HISTORY 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION 



ISLANDS OF THE SOUTH SEA ; 



I 



PRELIMINARY NOTICES OF THE ISLANDS 
AND OF THEIR INHABITANTS. 



ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP. 






BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY TAPPAN & DENNET. 

NEW YORK: GOULD, NEWMAN & SAXTON. 

PHILADELPHIA: HENRY PERKINS. 

1841. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, 

By Tappan & Dennet, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 

Massachusetts. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Modern missions have been regarded by one 
portion of the community with dislike, and by 
another with indifference. To the man whose 
attention has been long fixed upon this noble 
enterprise, and whose mind is familiar with its 
bearings upon the welfare of mankind, such a 
fact may seem almost unaccountable. And so 
far as opposition to this cause, or neglect of the 
means necessary to its success, is found in the 
bosom of the church, there is doubtless room for 
surprise as well as grief. But a large majority 
of the inhabitants even of Christian lands have 
no proper sense of the worth of the soul, and 
many are not fully convinced that salvation 
depends on a knowledge of the Gospel. We 
can hardly expect that those who bestow 
little or no thought on the great question of 



IV INTRODUCTION, 

their own probable condition after death, 
should look with much favor upon a lavish 
expenditure of time, money, and human life, 
for the purpose of securing the future happiness 
of distant and degraded heathen. There is, 
however, one view of the missionary cause 
which is fitted to excite the interest, not of the 
pious man alone, but of every one who has any 
claim to the character of a philanthropist. We 
refer to the temporal blessings which follow the 
establishment of the Gospel in any community, 
These are benefits which are understood and 
appreciated by men who regard merely religious 
improvement as of little worth. In the reference 
which we propose to make to the secular ad- 
vantages which have resulted from the estab- 
lishment of the Gospel in the South Sea Islands, 
we shall confine ourselves to points which are 
illustrated in the following pages. All that can 
be done in this brief notice is to enumerate 
without enlargement the most important of these 
advantages, in such a manner as to bring them, 
in a connected view, before the reader's mind. 

1. The saving of life and of property is one 
of the earliest and most striking benefits which 
attended the introduction of the Gospel. Pre- 
vious to the commencement of the missionary 



INTRODUCTION. V 

labors in the South Sea Islands the intercourse 
of civilized nations with their inhabitants was 
almost always dangerous, and often fatal. This- 
intercourse was marked by constant circum- 
spection on the one part, and frequent instances 
of treachery on the other. Surrounded by a 
network ten or fifteen feet high to prevent in- 
trusion, with cannon pointed, muskets loaded, 
and every preparation for attack, trading vessels 
permitted the savages to approach only within a 
certain distance. And with all these precautions 
many lives were lost. Boats were seized, their 
crews killed, vessels of different nations were 
taken, and all on board put to death in the most 
barbarous manner. The massacre of Captain 
De Langle and his men at the Navigators' Islands, 
and the more recent murder of Lieutenant Under- 
wood and Midshipman Henry at the Fejee 
Islands, may be referred to among other in- 
stances of the same kind. But no sooner was 
Christianity received than these dreadful scenes 
were ended. The effusion of blood was stopped, 
the rights of foreigners were regarded, and both 
life and property became safe. Pilfering was for-> 
merly almost universal among the islanders, and 
so ingenious were the modes by which the natives 
carried off articles that nothing was safe. But 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

when the people were converted they became 
honest ; and instead of seeking opportunities to 
purloin, they were anxious to restore what had 
been accidentally lost. Nor is it the lives and 
property of foreigners alone that have been saved 
by Christianity. The natives themselves have 
derived incalculable benefits in this respect from 
its introduction. In some of the islands canni- 
balism was prevalent, the sacrifice of human 
victims was common, and infanticide was uni- 
versal. The sick were often left to perish. 
Parents were deserted in old age, or when the 
burden of supporting them became troublesome 
were put to death by their children. Wars 
were frequent, and they were carried on in the 
spirit of the most exterminating fury. It is 
stated by one of the missionaries that in the 
course of fifteen years the island of Tahiti was 
involved in actual war ten different times. In 
these sanguinary conflicts the islands were laid 
waste, bread-fruit and other valuable trees were 
cut down, and the means of procuring the neces- 
saries of life destroyed. The population was con- 
stantly diminishing, and in some islands a mere 
handful of scarred warriors, with a few women 
and children, were the only survivors. In respect 
to these points the merciful spirit of the Gospel 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

produced immediate and important, changes. 
Wars ceased, or if they broke out were of short 
duration, and were conducted in a new and much 
more humane manner. Infanticide, by which 
thousands of innocent beings had been cut off 
at the threshold of life, was immediately sup- 
pressed, and the sick and aged were comfortably 
provided for. 

2. A great improvement in the condition of 
the female sex was soon effected by the new 
religion. Polygamy was abolished. Marriage, 
which so far as it existed at ail was nothing but 
an agreement between persons of different sexes 
to live together as long as they should remain 
satisfied, became a solemn covenant sanctioned 
by divine authority and dissolved only by death. 
The salutary influences of permanence in the 
domestic relations were spread over the com- 
munity. Woman was no longer trampled in 
the dust. Instead of the drudge of man — 
despised and abused — she became his com- 
panion and friend. Her employments were 
changed, and she was admitted to the table 
of her former master. No longer forced to 
wade the marsh, or dig in the taro-patch, she 
learned to ply the needle, to govern her house- 
hold, and to train up her children in the fear 



Viii INTRODUCTION. 

of God. The blessings which Christianity 
brings to the female sex, and through that sex 
to every portion of society, are inestimable ; 
and they are nowhere more forcibly illustrated 
than in the South Sea Islands. 

3. Closely connected with the subject which 
has just been mentioned is the suppression of 
licentiousness and the introduction of decency 
and propriety in dress and manners. This 
is a topic which is merely glanced at in this 
volume. If we would understand the state of 
society at the islands before the introduction of 
Christianity, it is necessary to read the voyages 
of navigators. Modesty was unknown, and 
chastity little if at all regarded. The moral 
habits of the natives were at war with all the 
best interests of society. Without separate 
apartments in their houses, without any sense 
of shame, and almost without clothing, the 
islanders were under no restraint from the laws 
of morality or decorum. But in this respect 
the influence of Christianity was at once felt. 
No sooner were the natives converted than they 
wished to be decently dressed. This was at 
least the case with females. And although 
the delicacy and refinement of Christian and 
civilized communities is not the growth of a 






INTRODUCTION. IX 

day, there is a constant advance in the state 
of society. 

4. The introduction of a system of ethics, of 
established laws, and of the regular adminis- 
tration of justice, followed the reception of 
Christianity. The ideas of right and wrong 
which prevailed among the natives were exceed- 
ingly perverted and defective. Power was the 
sovereign arbiter, physical force the tribunal of 
last resort. Every man was his own avenger, 
and the club and the spear were constantly ap- 
pealed to in all doubtful cases. The will of the 
chiefs was law, and the execution of their man- 
dates was summary and vindictive. Nor did the 
chiefs alone constitute themselves the dispensers 
of justice. Every man who happened at the 
moment to have power, took it on himself to 
carry into execution his ideas of the manner in 
which criuies ought to be punished. Equitable 
laws, and the impartial administration of justice, 
must be founded on a system of ethics. This 
was introduced by Christianity. The con- 
sciences of the people were enlightened, and the 
question, What is right ? acquired importance. 
The effect of this on the prevalent views in 
relation to theft, as well as other crimes, is illus- 
trated by many facts. On one occasion a ser- 



X INTRODUCTION. 

mon had been preached from the words, " Let 
him that stole steal no more," in which the 
preacher refuted the idea formerly held by the 
natives, that theft, if committed with dexterity, 
is no crime. The next morning, a number of 
natives came to the missionary with axes, 
hatchets, chisels, saws, and other articles which 
had been stolen from ships and from persons at 
a distance. As the owners of the stolen goods 
were not now to be found, the penitent thieves 
were advised to take them home, and wait for 
an opportunity to restore them. But they all 
said, " Oh no, we cannot take them back ; we 
have had no peace ever since we heard it was 
displeasing to God, and we shall have no peace 
so long as they remain in our dwellings ; we 
wish you to take them, and give them back to 
the owners whenever they come," 

5. The national intellect was awakened and 
expanded by the Gospel. A written language, 
a national literature, the institution of schools, 
and the education of the people, are benefits 
which the islanders owe entirely to the labors 
of the missionaries. It was by the patient study 
of these Christian teachers that the language 
was reduced to writing and systematized. The 
Scriptures were translated and published. Reli- 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

gious books were provided for the people, the 
laws were printed, schools were established, and 
the children carefully instructed. Parents, in- 
stead of putting their offspring to death, now 
preserved them alive, that they might learn the 
word of Jehovah ; and children in their turn, 
instead of destroying their blind or infirm 
parents, read to them from the oracles of God, 
and led them to the house of worship on the 
Sabbath. By the new and exciting stimulus 
which the truths of Christianity furnished to 
the intellects of the people, talent of a high order 
was called into action, and eloquence that is far 
from being despicable was elicited. The popu- 
lar idea of intellectual and moral greatness, 
instead of being confined to a block of wood, or 
a rude image of stone, was exalted by an ac- 
quaintance with the true God, and with the 
exhibition of his attributes which is made in the 
character of Christ. The intellectual benefits 
which the natives have received are not to be 
measured by the advantages derived from the 
introduction of the arts of reading and writing, 
and of some of the sciences. The powerful 
influences exerted over the mind of a nation, by 
the intellectual and moral qualities embodied in 
its divinities, are far more efficient and extensive 



Xll INTRODUCTION-. 

in their operation, than the mere knowledge of 
letters or of numbers. The greatest of all the 
benefits received by the South Sea Islanders 
will be found to have originated in the new and 
sublime truths of Christianity. The account of 
the creation, the character and government of 
God, the life and death of Christ, the doctrines 
of the apostles — these and other great truths 
elevate and expand the intellect not less than 
they purify the heart. The Islanders are no 
longer debased and stupid savages. They are 
Christians. 

6. The introduction of the mechanic arts 
accompanied the reception of the Gospel. Un- 
acquainted with the use of iron, the islanders 
possessed few tools, and were able to manufac- 
ture only such things as were indispensable to 
their existence. And although by their inter- 
course with white men they had learned the 
value of some of the products of the arts, they 
were wholly dependent on foreigners for the 
simplest instruments of metal. A nail, or a 
button, was a prize that made its possessor 
happy ; a knife, a treasure worth the sacrifice of 
many lives ; and a hatchet, or an axe, a thing 
of priceless value, an object almost of adoration. 
But a change has taken place. The forge has 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

been lighted, and the spindle set in motion. 
The axe resounds in the forest, and the hammer 
is heard in the village. The native, decently- 
clad in the products of the loom, erects for him- 
self a comfortable habitation. Once he stretched 
himself supinely in his miserable hut of poles, 
surrounded by vermin and covered with filth, 
the fit companion of his nearest neighbor, the 
swine. Now he approaches his neat white cot- 
tage upon a gravelled walk, through a grassy 
lawn ornamented with shrubbery, and shaded by 
lofty trees. The influence of some of the mis- 
sionaries in respect to external improvements has 
been most happy, and their example is worthy of 
all praise. Nor is the increased comfort of the na- 
tives which has resulted from the building of new 
houses, with bed-rooms and other apartments, 
and European furniture, the only benefit of these 
labors. The habits of industry which the na- 
tives have formed, and the principles of taste 
which they have learned, will exert the most 
salutary influence on their character. 

7. The improvement of agriculture is another 
benefit which the islanders owe to the mission- 
aries. In their original condition, the natives 
from ignorance and sloth cultivated only such 
Vegetables as were necessary for the support of 



XV111 PREFACE. 

Sea Islands have been published, and cir- 
culated to some extent in the community. 
But although these works may have been 
well suited to the purposes for which they 
were designed, no one of them is fitted to 
occupy the place which this volume is in- 
tended to fill. They are either so volumi- 
nous and expensive as to render the sale of 
them extremely limited, or they present, in 
the form of journals and statements which 
relate to particular islands, only partial and 
imperfect accounts of the establishment of 
the Gospel in those widely scattered 
groups. It is hoped that in the following 
pages these defects are remedied. While 
the narrative is reduced to a moderate 
compass, the most important facts respect- 
ing all the groups embraced in the plan of 
the work have been systematically arranged, 
w 7 ith particular attention to dates. The 
first four chapters are occupied with a 
description of the Islands and an account 
of the character and condition of the inhab- 
itants before the introduction of Christian- 



PREFACE. XIX 

ity. These preliminary chapters, although 
not absolutely essential to the history, will 
furnish the reader with the materials for a 
comparison of the present with the former 
circumstances of the people, and render the 
rapid changes which the Gospel has pro- 
duced more striking. 

The sources from which the facts stated 
in this w 7 ork have been chiefly drawn, are 
Brown's History of Missions, Smith and 
Choules's History of Missions, Ellis's Poly- 
nesian Researches, The Journal of Tyer- 
man and Bennett, Williams's Missionary 
Enterprises, Stewart's Journal, Lang's 
View of the Polynesian Nation, the 
Voyages of Bougainville, Cook, and La 
Perouse, and the Geographies of Murray 
and Bell. The London Missionary Chron- 
icle, and the Reports of the London and 
Wesleyan Missionary Societies, have ena- 
bled the author to bring down the narrative 
to the most recent dates. Instead of copy- 
ing any of the existing maps of Polynesia, 
the publishers have chosen, for the sake of 



XX PREFACE. 

accuracy, to defray the expense attending 
the construction and engraving of a new 
one. This map will doubtless prove a 
useful accompaniment to the descriptive 
and historical portions of the volume ; and 
if amidst the discrepancies which have 
hitherto prevailed in the orthography of 
the names of the islands, it is too much to 
hope that all errors have been avoided, the 
work, it is believed, will be found to be at 
least consistent with itself. 






CONTENT S. 



CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 

Discovery of the Pacific Ocean — Voyage of Magellan — Polynesia 
— South Sea Islands— The Georgian Islands — The Society 
Islands— The Austral Islands — The Hervey Islands — The 
Navigators' Islands — The Pearl Islands — The Marquesas — 
The Friendly Islands — Coral Reefs — Soil — Climate — Scenery 
— Winds— Storms— Rains — Tides— Water-spouts— Vegetable 
productions — Quadrupeds — Birds — Fishes — Serpents. ... 17 

CHAPTER II. 

INHABITANTS OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 

Two Races— Origin — Language— Personal appearance — Tattoo- 
ing — Dress— Shav ing — Mental capacity — Generosity— Do- 
mestic habits — Amusements— Marriage — Polygamy — Treat- 
ment of Females — Infanticide— Mode of salutation — Joy mani- 
fested by weeping — Mourning customs — Diseases — Native 
Physicians — Moral Character 39 



XX11 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

STATE OF THE ARTS WAR. 

Houses — Furniture— Mode of obtaining Fire — Agricultural Imple- 
ments—Making Cloth — Fish-hooks— Anecdote— Modes of tak- 
ing Fish — Canoes — Frequency of Wars — Their desolating 
character — Dress of Warriors — Weapons — Naval Engage- 
ments — Battles on Land — Wild Men— Treatment of Captives 
—Cannibalism — Treaties of Peace 63 

CHAPTER IV. 

GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION. 

Peculiarities of the Government at different Islands— Abdication 
of the Father on the birth of a Son— Regal mode of convey- 
ance— Sacredness of the King's person — Inauguration of the 
King — Administration of justice — Punishment of theft — Indis- 
tinct notions of a Supreme Being — Ideas of Heaven and Hell 
— Religious systems of the Islanders— Description of their gods 
— Other objects of worship — Maraes — Modes of worship — 
Prayers — Offerings — Human sacrifices — Peculiar form of Idol- 
atry at the Samoas — Seasons of worship — Annual national 
festival— Superstitions — Oracles — Augury — Sorcery. ... 81 

CHAPTER V. 

ORIGIN AND EARLY OPERATIONS OF THE LONDON 
MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

Formation of the Society— Sermon of Dr. Haweis — Embarka- 
tion of the first missionaries — Arrival at Tahiti — Kindness of 
the natives — Notice of a Roman Catholic mission — Opinion of 
Captain Cook in regard to missions — District of Malavai ceded 
to the missionaries— Return of the Duff to England — Second 
voyage of the Duff— Seizure of the ship and return of the mis- 
sionaries to England 98 



CONTENTS. XX111 

CHAPTER VI. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE GEORGIAN 
ISLANDS. 

Departure of the Duff— The Mechanic Arts— Astonishment of 
the Natives at seeing Iron worked — Difficulty of acquiring 
the Language — Efforts to benefit the People — Their pilfering 
habits — Arrival of a Ship — Subsequent disasters — Departure 
of the Missionaries — Commencement of hostilities — Peace 
restored — Death of Mr. Lewis—First Chapel in the South Sea 
Islands — A backsliding Missionary — Mission reinforced — The 
Idol Oro seized — Death of Pomare — Native School — First 
Spelling-book — Rebellion in Matavai — Departure of the Mis- 
sionaries — Abandonment of the Mission 115 

CHAPTER VII. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GOSPEL IN THE GEORGIAN 
ISLANDS. 

Return of the Missionaries to Eimeo — Favorable indications in 
the King — His return to Tahiti — Notice of Tuahine and Oito 
— First record of the names of the professors of Christianity — 
Idols publicly burnt — Encouraging appearances — Return of 
Pomare to Eimeo — Persecution of the Christians — Martyrdom 
in Tahiti — Conspiracy against the Bure Atua — A battle fought 
— Clemency of Pomare — Destruction of the god Oro — Over- 
throw of Idolatry— Triumphs of the Gospel 137 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE GEORGIAN ISLANDS. 

Pomare's idols sent to England — Arrival of Mr. Ellis — Astonish- 
ment of the natives at seeing a Horse— Erection of a Printing 



XXIV CONTENTS. 

Office — First printing done by Pomare — Strong desire for 
Books — Ingenious substitutes for binding— Formation of a na- 
tive Missionary Society — Arrival of Missionaries— Station at 
Tahiti re-oceupied — Manufacture of Sugar attempted — Royal 
Mission Chape! — Substitutes for Bells— Baptism of Pomare — 
First Code of Laws — Change in the appearance of the Fe- 
males — Regard for the Sabbath— Culture of Cotton introduced. 156 

CHAPTER IX. 

SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL IN THE GEORGIAN ISLANDS 

GENERAL RESULTS. 

Introduction of the Gospel into Tabuaemanu — Notice of Pomare 
IF. — Coronation of Pomare III. — South Sea Academy— Death 
of the young King— His successor — Testimony of Mr Stewart 
and of Captain Waldegrave — Civil war — Restoration of Peace 
— Spirit of inquiry — Revival of religion — Departure of Mr. 
Nott — Letter from the Missionaries — Attempts to introduce the 
Catholic religion at Tahiti — Testimony of Captain Hervey. . 180 

CHAPTER X. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE LEEWARD 
OR SOCIETY ISLANDS. 

Station commenced at Huahine — Renunciation of idolatry — De- 
struction of the gods — Attack on the Christians — Defeat of the 
idolaters — Clemency of the victors — Station commenced at 
Raiatea— Printing office at Huahine— Translation of the Scrip- 
tures — Change in the habits of the natives — Cultivation of the 
Cotton Plant — Abandonment of the Plantation — Manufacture 
of Sugar — Missionary Society formed in Huahine — Change in 
the appearance of Raiatea — Erection of dwellings — Ingenuity 
of the natives — New Chapels in Raiatea and Huahine — 
Schools — Improvement in the Females — Adoption of the Eng- 
lish mode of dress 200 



CONTENTS, XXV 

CHAPTER XL 

PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE SOCIETY ISLANDS, 

Observance of the Sabbath — Private devotions — Sabbath Schools 
— Public worship — Weekly meetings— First baptism — Revival 
of religion— Celebration of the Lord's Supper — Improvement 
in the social condition of the people — Introduction of a code 
of laws— Insurrection quelled — Execution of the laws — Love 
of peace— Death of the king's son— Prosperity of Huahine — 
Increased interest in religion — Missionary meetings — Notice 
of Mahine 217 

CHAPTER XII. 

INTRODUCTION OP THE GOSPEL INTO THE AUSTRAL 
ISLANDS. 

Epidemic at Rurutu — Voyage of Auura — His return to Rurutu 
with Raiatean Teachers— Their reception— Gods delivered 
up to the Teachers — Improvement of the People — Shrewdness 
of the Teachers — Native Missionaries sent to Rimatara — 
Their success— Reception of the Gospel at other Islands. . . 242 

CHAPTER XIII. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE HERVEY 
ISLANDS. 

Teachers sent to Aitutaki— Efforts to enlighten the natives— Effect 
of the arrival of a ship — Subversion of idolatry — Pleasing 
change at Aitutaki — Missionary sufferings — Teachers left at 
Mangaia — their treatment by the natives— Second effort to 
introduce the Gospel — Its success — Renunciation of idolatry — 
Notice of Romatane — Gospel sent to Mauke — Testimony of 



XXVI CONTENTS. 

Lord Byron — Discovery of Rarotonga — Reception of Chris- 
tianity—First idol burnt — Overthrow of idolatry— Chapel built 
— Mr. Bourne's visit and remarks 258 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE HERVEY ISLANDS. 

Battle between the Christians and Heathen — Clemency of the vic- 
tors — Idols brought to the teachers — Chapel built — The mys- 
terious chip — Diligence of the people — Introduction of a Code 
of Laws — Polygamy — Separation of the King from his wives 
— Pivai — Improved appearance of the inhabitants— Unfavor- 
able change in Makea — Outrages of the people — Epidemic at 
Rarotonga — A converted cripple — Beauty of the settlements 
— A hurricane — lis effect on the people — Speech of a chief — 
Progress of the children — Examination of the schools — Reli- 
gious interest — Letter from the church at Rarotonga — Death 
of a teacher's wife 282 

CHAPTER XV. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE SAMOAS, 
OR NAVIGATORS' ISLANDS. 

Character of the Samoans — Project of Mr. Williams — Ship built 
— Voyage of Messrs. Williams and Barff — Arrival at Savaii 
— Reception — Interview with two Chiefs — Second visit of Mr. 
Williams to the Navigators' Islands — Pleasant salutation — In- 
cidents at Leone — Conduct of English Sailors — Interesting 
events at Manono — Speech of the King — His reception of 
the Gospel — Effect on the people — Beauty of the settlements 
— Christian females — Conversation with a Chief — Arrival of 
English missionaries — Improvement of the people — Attention 
to religion^— Missionary meeting — General results — Contrast in 
the condition of the inhabitants 303 



CONTENTS. XXV11 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS, THE PEARL ISLANDS, AND 
THE MARQUESAS. 

Mission commenced at Tongataboo — Its failure — Mission revived 
—Condition of the Friendly Islands in 1823 — Success of the 
Mission — Letter from a Missionary — War at Tonga — Encour- 
aging" appearances — Stale of the schools — Mission commenced 
in the Pearl Islands— Notices of the different islands — Mis- 
sion commenced at Marquesas — Its results — Roman Catholic 
missionaries 331 

CHAPTER XVII. 

RECENT EFFORTS TO EXTEND THE SOUTH SEA 
MISSIONS. 

Mr. Williams's visit to England — Interest excited there — Pur- 
chase of a missionary ship — Missionary meeting — Address of 
Mr. Ellis — Address of Mr. Williams— Sailing of the Camden 
— Arrival at Sydney — Visit to the New Hebrides— Murder of 
Messrs. Williams and Harris — Native College 349 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Temperance, „ 367 

CHAPTER. XIX. 

Conclusion, ...*.; . 377 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 

Discovery of the Pacific Ocean — Voyage of Magellan — Polynesia — 
South Sea Islands — The Georgian Islands — The Society Islands — 
The Austral Islands — The Hervey Islands — The Navigators 7 
Islands — The Pearl Islands — The Marquesas — The Friendly 
Islands — Coral Reefs— Soil— Climate — Scenery — Winds — Storms 
— Rains— Tides — Water-spouts — Vegetable productions— Quad- 
rupeds — Birds — Fishes — Serpents. 

The Pacific Ocean was discovered by a Spaniard. 
In the year 1513, Vasco Nugnez de Balboa, governor 
of the Spanish Colony of Santa Maria, projected an 
enterprise across the isthmus of Darien. Having 
arrived, after much toil and many hardships, at the 
base of the last mountain which it was necessary to 
climb, he was told by his Indian guides, that when 
he reached the top, he should behold the long desired 
object of his search. Leaving his followers below he 
hastened on alone. From the summit a glorious 
prospect burst upon his view. The great Southern 
2 



18 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Ocean, illuminated by the rising sun, lay before him. 
Overcome with joy at the sight, he fell upon his 
knees, and returned thanks to God for his discovery. 
He then led his troops to the shore, and advancing 
into the water with his sword and buckler, took pos- 
session of the ocean in the name of his sovereign. 

All attempts to explore this ocean previous to the 
year 1519 proved fruitless. In that year, Fernando 
de Magalhaens (generally known by the name of 
Magellan), a Portuguese under the patronage of the 
king of Spain, set sail from San Lucar, and after a 
voyage of more than ten months, discovered the 
straits which bear his name. Passing through these 
straits, he entered the vast ocean beyond, and sailed 
three months and twenty days without seeing land. * 
In this unexplored, and seemingly boundless expanse 
of sea and sky, he was near perishing, with all his 
men, by famine. The weather, however, was fine, 
and the sea calm, and in reference to this circum- 
stance, Magellan called the ocean the Pacific — a 
name which many subsequent voyagers have thought 
was misapplied. After the discovery of the Ladrone 
and Philippine Islands, the expedition returned to 
Spain, but without its commander. Having led the 
way round the globe, he was killed by the natives of 
one of the Philippine Isles. The course which Ma- 
gellan had thus pursued was soon followed by several 
Spanish, Dutch, and British navigators, by whom 
many islands were discovered. To those lying east 
of the Philippines the name Polynesia has been given, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 19 

from two Greek words signifying many islands. The 
principal groups included in Polynesia are the La- 
drones, the Carolinas, the Pelew, and the Sandwich 
Islands, — lying north of the equator ; together with 
the Georgian Islands, the Society Islands, the Austral 
Islands, the Hervey Islands, the Navigators' Islands, 
the Pearl Islands, the Marquesas, and the Friendly 
Islands ; which are found on the southern side of 
the equinoctial line. In this work, the last mentioned 
groups are included under the name South Sea 
Islands ; * and of these it is our object, in the present 



* The term South Sea Islands is one of very uncertain signifi- 
cation. The names " South Sea" and " Pacific Ocean*' have 
been long used as convertible terms, applicable, without dis- 
tinction, to the body of water which lies between the continents 
of America and Asia, and the arctic and antarctic circles. In 
accordance with this use of language, the South Sea Islands 
are regarded by Dr. Lang (View of the Polynesian Nation, i. 1.) 
as extending " from the Sandwich Islands in the northern, to 
New Zealand in the southern hemisphere, and from the Indian 
Archipelago to Easter Island, near the continent of America." 
By Murray (Encyclopaedia of Geography, iii. 144 — 166), all the 
Polynesian groups are spoken of as South Sea Islands. On the 
other hand, the terms North and South Pacific Oceans are intro- 
duced by Bell in his Geography, and by Ellis in the " Polyne- 
sian Researches ; " and the groups which lie north of the 
equator are excluded from the South Sea Islands by the last 
mentioned writer. The clusters to which this work relates are 
all in the southern hemisphere, and from their prominence in 
the Missionary operations of the present century they have 
become generally known as the South Sea Islands. 



20 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Chapter, to give a general description, with brief 
notices of the discovery of the different groups. 

The Georgian Islands are situated in the South 
Pacific Ocean between 17° and 18° south latitude, 
and 149° and 153° west longitude. The group con- 
tains six islands, Tahiti, Eimeo, Tabuaemanu or Sir 
Charles Sander's Island, Tetuaroa, Matea, and Mee- 
tia. The last two are comparatively unimportant, 
and but little is known of them. 

Tahiti is the largest of these islands, and from its 
having been frequently visited by Europeans, it some- 
times gives name to the whole group. It is supposed 
by some to have been discovered in the sixteenth 
century, but as nothing was known of it until a much 
later period, it is probable that the honor of the dis- 
covery belongs to Captain Wallis, commander of the 
British ship Dolphin. In the year 1767, that officer, 
in crossing the Pacific Ocean, anchored in Matavai 
Bay, in the island of Tahiti, and gave to the harbor 
the name of Port Royal, and to the land that of King 
George the Third's Island. 

A few years after the voyage of Wallis, Tahiti was 
visited by Captain Cook for the purpose of observing 
the transit of the planet Venus. From him the island 
received the name of Otaheite, but it is now called 
Tahiti, which is the name given to it by the natives. 
Tahiti consists of two peninsulas united by an 
isthmus. The largest is nearly circular, and about 
twenty miles in diameter. The smaller one is oval, 
about sixteen miles long, and eight broad. The cir- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 21 

cumference of the whole island is one hundred and 
eight miles. The interior is mountainous, but is 
surrounded by a border from two to three miles wide, 
of low, rich, level land, which extends from the base 
of the mountains to the sea. The population of 
Tahiti is estimated at about 10,000. 

Eimeo, or, as it is called by the natives, Moorea, 
is situated about 2° west of Tahiti. It was discov- 
ered by Captain Wallis in 1767, and by him called 
the Duke of York's Island. It is about twenty-five 
miles in circumference. The other islands though 
equally elevated are of smaller extent. 

The Society Islands include Huahine, Raiatea, 
Tahaa, Borabora, Maurua, Tubai, Moupiha, and 
Fenuaura. In addition to these, Malte Brun reckons 
Tahiti, Eimeo, Tabuaemanu, Tetuaroa, Matea, and 
Meetia. Captain Cook, however, considered the two 
groups as distinct, and named the former the Society 
Islands, in honor of the Royal Society of London, 
and the latter the Georgian Islands, in honor of King 
George the Third. The two clusters extend from 
16° to 18° south latitude, and from 149° to 155° 
west longitude. The population of both groups is 
supposed to be about 20,000. 

The Austral Islands are five in number, Raivavai or 
High Island, Tubuai, Rimatara, and Rapa. They are 
situated between 22° 27' and 27° 36' south latitude, 
and 144° II 7 and 150° 47' west longitude. The popu- 
lation is probably only 3,000 or 4,000. Raivavai is one 
of the most important islands of this group. It was dis- 



22 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

covered by Lieutenant Broughton in 1791. The island 
is about twenty miles in circumference. It is moun- 
tainous in the centre but has considerable low land. 

Rapa is the most southerly of the Austral Islands. 
It was discovered by Vancouver in 1791. The 
mountains are craggy, and picturesque, and the land 
generally fertile. 

Tubuai was discovered by Captain Cook in 1777. 
It is a small island about twelve miles in circumfer- 
ence and thinly peopled. 

Rurutu was also discovered by Captain Cook, by 
whom it was called Ohetetoa. This island as well 
as Rimatara is small, and but little is known of either 
of them. 

The Hervey Islands are situated between 19° and 
21° south latitude, and 156° and 161° west longi- 
tude, and contain a population of 16,000 or 18,000. 
The largest and most important island of the group is 
Rarotonga. Many of the islands in this cluster were 
discovered by Captain Cook, but this beautiful island 
remained unknown until 1823. It was then discov- 
ered by the Rev. Mr. Williams, an English mis- 
sionary. It is a mass of mountains, many of which 
are high, and remarkably romantic. The island is 
about thirty miles in circumference, and has several 
good harbors for boats. Its population is about 
7,000. 

Mangaia was discovered by Captain Cook. It is 
twenty or twenty-five miles in circumference, and 
contains between 2,000 and 3,000 inhabitants. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 23 

Atiu was discovered by Captain Cook, and called 
by him Wateoo. It is about twenty miles in cir- 
cumference, hilly, but not mountainous. It is a very 
verdant island, and contains nearly 2,000 inhabitants. 

Aitutaki was also discovered by Captain Cook, 
and named by him Whylootaki. It is eighteen miles 
in circumference, and has a population of about 2,000 
persons. The landscapes on this island are rich and 
variegated. 

Mauke is a small, low island, discovered by Messrs. 
Williams and Bourne in 1823. Its former population 
was considerable, but when discovered it was so 
much reduced by repeated wars that it numbered 
only 300. 

Mitiaro is a still smaller island lying twenty miles 
northwest of Mauke. This island has also been 
nearly depopulated by famine and wars, so that it 
contains not more than 100 inhabitants. 

Hervey's Island, from which the group takes its 
name, was discovered by Captain Cook, and named 
by him in honor of Captain Hervey. 

The Navigators' Islands are situated between 10° 
and 20° south latitude, and 169° and 174° west 
longitude. They were discovered in 1768, by Bou- 
gainville, a French circumnavigator, who gave them 
the name they now bear on account of the superior 
construction of the canoes of the natives, and their 
dexterity in the water. The group is called by the 
inhabitants, Samoa, and consists of eight islands, 
Manua, Orosenga, Ofu, Tutuila, Upolu, Manono, 
Aborima, and Savaii. 



24 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Manua is a small and almost uninhabited island. 
It is circular in form, and so elevated as to be visible 
at a distance of forty or fifty miles. 

Orosenga and Ofu are two small islands, separated 
from each other by a narrow channel. 

Tutuila is about fifty miles west of Orosenga. It 
is from eighty to one hundred miles in circumference. 

Upolu is between one hundred and fifty and two 
hundred miles in circumference. The mountains on 
this island are very high, and covered with verdure to 
their summits. 

Manono is about five miles in circumference, and 
is attached to Upolu by a coral reef. 

Aborima is a small island about two miles in cir- 
cumference, situated half way between Manono and 
Savaii. It received its name, which signifies the 
hollow of the hand, from its shape. It is supposed to 
be the crater of an extinct volcano. 

Savaii , the largest island of the group, is about two 
hundred and fifty miles in circumference. The 
mountains are very high, and visible at a distance of 
six or seven hundred miles. With the exception of 
the Sandwich Islands, this group is the largest and 
most populous of the numerous clusters in the Pacific 
at which Missions have been commenced. Its popu- 
lation is estimated at 160,000. 

The Paumotu or Pearl Islands are situated between 
17° and 23° south latitude, and 139° and 145° west 
longitude. The group consists of a large number of 
small, low islands. They have been called by differ- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 25 

ent names, as, The Labyrinth, The Pearl Islands, 
Paumotu, The Palliser Islands, and The Dangerous 
Archipelago. Some of the Islands have received the 
name of Crescent, Bow, Harp, and Chain, which 
have been regarded as indicative of their shape. The 
population is 3,000 or 4,000. 

The most easterly group of the populous isles of 
Polynesia is called the Marquesas. They are situated 
about 7° or 8° north of the Pearl Islands, and extend 
from 7° to 10° south latitude, and from 138° to 140° 
west longitude. They consist of two clusters which 
were discovered at different periods. The southern 
cluster contains five islands, all of which, with one 
exception, were discovered in 1595 by Alvaro Men- 
dano, a Spanish navigator. By him the islands were 
named Marquesas, in honor of his patron, Marques 
Mendoza, viceroy of Peru. These islands were next 
visited by Captain Cook in 1774, who discovered 
Hood's Island. The northern cluster was discovered 
in 1780, by Lieutenant Hergest. This group also 
consists of five islands, and as it is distinct from the 
other cluster, it has sometimes been called by another 
name. Both groups, however, are usually designated 
by the common name Marquesas. The geographical 
extent of the united. groups is inferior to that of the 
Georgian and Society Islands, but the population is 
supposed to be much greater. 

The Friendly Islands are situated between 16° and 
21° south latitude, and 176° and 186° west longi- 
tude. The group contains a number of islands 



26 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

which are barren and desert spots. Some of them, 
however, are of considerable size. One of the largest 
and most important is Tongataboo, or Tonga Taboo, 
or Tonga, which contains a population of 10,000. 
It is of coralline formation, and in figure somewhat 
resembles an isosceles triangle. The land is low, 
never rising more than eighty feet above the level of 
the sea. It is stated by Dr. Lang, that besides an 
ancient tomb, constructed of immense stones, which 
the present natives, in the existing state of the arts in 
the Friendly Islands, would never be able to move, 
there is not a stone upon the island of the size of a 
pigeon's egg. 

This group, according to some geographers, in- 
cludes the Navigators 5 Islands, and the Fejee or Fiji 
Islands. 

Most of the South Sea Islands are surrounded, at 
a distance of from one to two miles from the shore, 
by a coral reef, or belt of coral rock, several yards in 
width. Against this reef the waves of the Pacific are 
constantly dashing, and being impeded in their 
course, rise ten, twelve, or fourteen feet above the 
surface of the reef, and thus form a beautiful liquid 
arch. From the outer edge, the reefs shelve away 
underneath into deep hollows.. In landing from 
canoes, when the sea is high, there is danger of up- 
setting, and being forced by the violence of the waves 
into these awful caverns, from which escape would 
be impossible. The water within the reef is placid 
and transparent, and at the bottom may be seen coral 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 27 

of every shape and color, among which fishes of 
various hues and sizes are constantly sporting. In 
most of these reefs there is an opening large enough 
to admit vessels, through which a stream of water 
enters the ocean. 

Many of the islands exhibit marks of volcanic 
action, but whether they owe their existence to this 
agency or not is not known. Several are of coralline 
formation, and in some there are caverns of great 
extent, with a coral roof ten or fifteen feet in thick- 
ness. The soil is generally rich, and very prolific. 
Upon the coralline islands, however, it is thin, and 
but little is cultivated on them. 

The climate, though hotter than that of Europe, is 
more temperate than in those parts of South America 
whose latitude is the same. Though the distance of 
the groups from the equator is, on an average, only 
17°, they are surrounded by a vast expanse of water, 
and enjoy almost daily a refreshing land and sea 
breeze. Still, the heat in the low-lands is constant, 
and often excessive. The changes, on the other 
hand, are neither sudden nor violent, and the warmth 
of the climate, though debilitating to Europeans, 
occasions no inconvenience to the natives. 

The islands are for the most part hilly, often moun- 
tainous, and on some of them the mountains rise to 
an immense height. The sides of the mountains are 
covered with verdure, and at their bases are spread 
fertile and luxuriant valleys. Here the fervor, and 



28 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the thirst of the torrid zone are absent, while its lus- 
cious productions are furnished in profusion. It 
would be difficult for the strongest imagination to 
conceive an earthly paradise more lovely than is to 
be found in some portions of the South Sea Islands. 
Freed from the usual power of the tropical heat, and 
fanned by the soft breezes of a perpetual spring, 
these delightful regions present to the eye extensive 
and beautiful views of hills and valleys, forests and 
streams. It will easily be believed that the impres- 
sion which such prospects are fitted to make upon 
the mind is not diminished by the solemn grandeur of 
the Pacific, whether it is seen on the edge of the 
horizon mingling its waters with the sky, or, in a 
nearer view, raising the crested arches of its billows 
in the air at the close of their long career. Nor are 
these beauties measured out with a parsimonious, or 
even with a frugal hand. Lavish of her bounties, 
Nature has displayed on every side the extent of her 
resources, and the perfection of her skill. The 
scenery is in general fine, especially on the island of 
Tahiti, which abounds in landscapes of the most 
charming kind. 

Yet the beautiful is occasionally mingled with the 
terrible. The winds though generally moderate are 
sometimes violent and tempestuous. Whirlwinds 
visit the islands and produce the most disastrous con- 
sequences. Storms are heavy and destructive. Mr. 
Williams, in his " Missionary Enterprises in the 
South Sea Islands," gives an account of a hurricane 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 29 

which occurred at one of the stations on the island of 
Rarotonga. He says, " The chapels, school-houses, 
mission houses, and nearly all the dwellings of the 
natives, amounting in all to about one thousand, 
were levelled to the ground. Every particle of food 
in the island was destroyed. Scarcely a banana, or 
plantain tree, was left either on the plains, in the val- 
leys, or on the mountains, hundreds of thousands of 
which on the preceding day covered and adorned the 
land with their foliage and fruit. Thousands of 
stately bread-fruit, together with immense chestnut, 
and other huge trees that had withstood the storms of 
ages, were laid prostrate on the ground, and thrown 
upon each other in the wildest confusion. Of those 
that were standing many were branchless and all 
leafless. So great and so general was the destruction 
that no spot escaped, for the gale veered gradually 
round the island, and performed most effectually its 
devastating commission." * Rains are frequent, but 
seldom heavy, except in the rainy season, which com- 
mences in December, and continues till March. 
Thunder and lightning are frequent and sometimes 
awful. 

The tides in the Society, and some of the other 
South Sea Islands, are uniform throughout the year. 
The water is always lowest at six o'clock in the 
morning and evening, and highest at noon and at mid- 
night. It seldom rises more than twelve or eighteen 

* Pages 359, 360. 



30 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

inches, except when a strong wind blows for a long 
time from the same direction, when the sea rolls 
over the reef and bursts with violence upon the shore. 

Water-spouts are of frequent occurrence in the 
South Seas, and are a source of much terror to the 
islanders. Mr. Ellis, in describing one, says, " The 
column was well-defined, extending in an unbroken 
line from the sea to the clouds. Around the outside 
of the liquid cylinder was a kind of thick mist; and 
within, a substance resembling steam, ascending 
apparently with a spiral motion." They advance 
steadily and threaten every moment to bring within 
their vortex the light canoes of the natives which are 
dancing on the waves. When viewed from the shore 
they are sublime objects of interest, but at sea it is 
impossible to behold their stately movements, or the 
rapid internal circular eddy of the waters with com- 
posure. 

The vegetable productions of the South Sea 
Islands are abundant. Many of them, though unlike 
those of our own country, are invaluable to the 
natives, and from some of them, they derive almost 
their only means of subsistence. The trees are 
remarkable for their size, and the beauty of their 
foliage or flowers. Most of them are evergreens, and 
often present an appearance both novel and interest- 
ing. The old and new leaves, the bud, and the blos- 
som, the young fruit, and the ripe, are found together 
throughout the year. Some of the trees are exceed- 
ingly valuable as timber. One of the most so is the 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 31 

apape, which rears its straight and branchless trunk 
(two or three feet in diameter) forty or fifty feet, and 
is crowned by a tuft of pale green leaves. The wood 
is of a salmon color, and is easily worked by the 
natives. Another valuable and beautiful tree is the 
tamanu or ati. The leaves resemble those of the 
laurel, but are darker and more shining. The trunk 
is four or five feet in diameter. In color the wood 
resembles mahogany ; it is used by the natives in 
the manufacture of their household furniture, and in 
making canoes. The hutu is another splendid tree, 
the foliage of which resembles in many respects the 
magnolia of our Southern States. One of the most 
singular and beautiful trees is the aoa, the branches 
of which, like the banian tree, grow horizontally, 
and shoot out fibres which hang like threads. As 
soon as they reach the ground they take root, and in 
a few years present the same appearance as the trunk 
of the original tree. In this way the aoa gradually 
extends itself until a single tree has the appearance of 
a grove. 

The candle-nut abounds in the mountains. Its 
leaves are nearly white, and form an agreeable con- 
trast to the dark, rich foliage of the other trees. It 
bears a nut about the size of a walnut, which is used 
as a substitute for candles. The shell is taken off, 
and a number of the nuts, having been perforated, 
are strung on a rib of the cocoanut leaf, and then 
lighted. By burning the nut a very fine lampblack 
is also obtained, which is used by the natives for 



32 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

painting canoes, and some of their musical instru- 
ments. But the most beautiful as well as the most 
valuable of all the trees is the bread-fruit. It fre- 
quently grows fifty or sixty feet high, and has a 
trunk between two and three feet in diameter. The 
leaves are broad and indented like the leaf of the 
fig-tree. They are from twelve to eighteen inches 
long, thick and of a dark green color, with a glossy 
surface, like those of the richest evergreens. The 
fruit is oval and about six inches in thickness. It 
grows at the end of the branches, either alone, or in 
clusters of two or three, to which it is attached by a 
short thick stalk. The fruit is covered with a rough 
rind which is at first of a light pea-green color. It 
afterwards changes to brown, and when fully ripe 
becomes a rich yellow. There are sometimes several 
hundreds of these growing upon one tree, and their 
light color contrasted with the dark, shining leaves, 
together with the stately outline of the tree, consti- 
tute a most splendid object. The fruit is never eaten 
in its natural state, but the natives have several dif- 
ferent methods of dressing it. The most common 
way is to bake it in an oven of heated stones. The 
rind is taken off, and the core having been carefully 
removed, the fruit is cut into three or four pieces. 
A large hole in the earth is prepared, on the bottom 
of which heated stones are spread and covered with 
leaves. On these the pieces of bread-fruit are placed, 
and a covering of leaves, heated stones, and earth, 
several inches deep, completes the arrangement. In 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 33 

this state the oven remains half an hour or more, 
when the earth and leaves are removed, and the 
bread-fruit taken out. In color, size, and structure 
it resembles bread. Though it is much inferior to 
European bread, the taste is sweet and pleasant, 
and the natives are exceedingly fond of it. It is, 
indeed, their principal article of diet. For the chiefs 
it is usually dressed two or three times a day, but for 
the people generally not oftener than once in twenty- 
four hours. The bread-fruit tree produces two and 
sometimes three crops in a year. A thick mucilagi- 
nous fluid exudes from the bark, which is hardened 
by exposure to the sun, and is used by the natives to 
render water-tight the seams of their canoes. The 
bark of the young branches is used in making cloth, 
and the trunk furnishes one of the most valuable kinds 
of timber possessed by the natives. The wood, which 
is of a dark rich color, and very durable, is used for 
building houses and canoes, and for several articles of 
household furniture. There are many varieties of the 
bread-fruit tree, which ripen at different seasons, so 
that the natives have a supply of ripe fruit during the 
greater part of the year. 

Next to the bread-fruit the cocoanut is the most 
useful tree. The trunk is cylindrical, three or four 
feet in diameter at the root, and gradually taper- 
ing to the top. It is apparently composed of a 
number of small, hollow reeds, enclosed in a rough 
and very hard bark. It grows erect sometimes to 
the height of sixty or seventy feet, without a branch 
3 



34 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

or leaf excepting at the top, and is crowned by a tuft 
of long green leaves and several bunches of fruit. 
The cocoanut tree will grow and flourish in any situ- 
ation, and under the most unfavorable circumstances, 
as well on the barren sea-beach, and the sun-burnt 
sides of the mountains, as in the most fertile valleys. 
The trunk of the tree furnishes excellent timber, and 
is useful for a variety of purposes. The leaves are 
composed of strong stalks, twelve or fifteen feet long, 
with a number of long, narrow pointed leaflets, 
arranged alternately on each side. Bonnets, screens, 
and several kinds of baskets, which are very neat, 
convenient, and durable, are often made by plaiting 
the leaves. The leaf is attached to the trunk by a 
strong, fibrous matting, extending half way round the 
trunk, and reaching two or three feet up the leaf, 
thus effectually protecting it from the violence 
of the winds. While the leaves are young the 
matting is of a beautiful, and transparent white, and 
is often cut into long narrow strips, and tied into 
bunches with which the natives ornament their hair. 
By exposure to the air it becomes coarser, and 
stronger, and assumes a yellowish color. It is called by 
the natives aa, and is used for making various articles 
of clothing. The fruit grows in bunches sometimes 
of twenty or thirty nuts, and there are sometimes six 
or seven bunches on a tree at the same time. The 
nut is covered with a tough, fibrous bark, in which is 
enclosed, in a soft white shell, a pint, or a pint and a 
half, of the fluid called cocoanut milk. No accurate 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 35 

idea of the taste of the juice of the cocoanut can be 
formed from that found in the nuts brought to 
America. These are old, and dry, and the milk 
comparatively rancid. In this state they are never 
used by the natives except for planting or extracting 
oil. The oil is procured from the pulp by grating 
the kernel of the nut, and depositing it in a long 
wooden trough. This is exposed to the rays of the 
sun, and after a few days the grated nut is piled up in 
heaps in the trough with a small space between each. 
The oil exudes, and is drained off in bamboo canes, 
and preserved for sale or use. The shell is used by 
the natives for making cups, and drinking vessels. 
These are highly polished, and often ingeniously 
carved. The fibres of the husk are useful in making 
cordage. Truly has it been said, 

14 The Indian's nut alone 
Is clothing, meat and trencher, drink and can, 
Boat, cable, sail, and needle, all in one." 

The auti, or paper mulberry, is another valuable 
tree, which furnishes the natives with most of the 
materials for making the cloth worn in the islands. 

The taro, or arum, is one of the most esculent 
roots growing upon the islands, and is prepared in 
the same manner as bread-fruit. The yam is indige- 
nous in most of the South Sea Islands, and is culti- 
vated with much care. It is remarkably sweet, and 
farinaceous. Sweet potatoes are common. Arrow- 
root, though indigenous and abundant, is not much 



36 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

cultivated, on account of the labor it requires to ren- 
der it fit for food. The plantain, or banana, is in 
general use, and is a rich nutritive fruit. 

The T7, or Brazilian plum, is abundant. The 
fruit is of a bright yellow color. In form and taste 
it resembles a magnum-bonum plum, but instead of a 
stone has a hard, spiked core containing a number of 
seeds. 

The mope or native chestnut is of stately growth, 
and splendid foliage. The leaf is six or eight inches 
in length, exceedingly light and delicate in its struc- 
ture. The trunk of the tree rises ten or twelve feet 
without a branch, after which the branches are large 
and spreading. The nut is not eaten in a raw state, 
and though rather hard when ripe, it is when roasted 
pleasant to the taste. 

Many of the most valuable tropical fruits have been 
introduced into the islands. Vines, oranges, limes, 
and other plants were brought from England by Cap- 
tains Cook, Bligh, and Vancouver. Citrons, tama- 
rinds, pine-apples, figs, and coffee-plants have since 
been introduced, and successfully cultivated. Fo- 
reign vegetables do not generally thrive. The bo- 
tanical specimens on the islands are exceedingly 
numerous. In 1832, the Georgian and Society 
Islands w^re visited by an accomplished, and scien- 
tific Italian, who, during a residence of eight or 
ten months, collected two thousand new specimens. 
The hibiscus grows without cultivation, and many 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 37 

of the most beautiful American and English flowers 
have been introduced, and successfully cultivated. 

The only quadrupeds originally found on the islands 
were hogs, dogs, rats, and lizards. Rats were ex- 
ceedingly numerous, and at Mangaia, and some of 
the other islands, they were a common article of food. 
After the conversion of the natives to Christianity, 
some of them applied to the missionaries to know 
whether it was sinful to eat them. The missionaries 
replied that they were in the habit of looking upon 
rats as exceedingly disgusting, and recommended to 
the people to take great care of the pigs and goats 
which had been brought from England, by which 
means they would obtain a supply of animal food 
superior to rats, which they considered so "sweet and 
good." Soon after this, Mr. Williams was invited to 
a sumptuous feast, at which four or five hundred 
guests were present. " Not a rat," says he, " was 
on the table, that is, not a baked one ; there were 
plenty of live ones running about in all directions." 
Indeed so numerous were these animals that one or 
two persons were constantly kept in attendance on 
the tables for the purpose of keeping them off. 

Horses, asses, cattle, goats, and sheep, have all 
been brought to the islands, and with the exception 
of the cattle appear to thrive. 

At the Friendly Islands, large bats are found, 
measuring, when extended, from three to four feet 
between the tips of the wings. The only singing 
bird at these islands is a green colored thrush. Spi- 



38 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

ders of a large size, and beautiful moths, and butter- 
flies, are also found at the Friendly Islands. 

Of the feathered tribes in the South Sea Islands 
there are but few varieties, and these are not dis- 
tinguished for the beauty of their plumage, or the 
sweetness of their notes. The aquatic birds are the 
most numerous. Among them are the albatross, 
water pigeons, and wild ducks. In some of the 
islands the turtle dove, and the paroquet are found. 
Owls also abound at the Navigators' Islands. The 
common domestic fowl is reared in great numbers to 
supply the vessels that touch at the islands for refresh- 
ment, but they are little used by the natives. The 
coast abounds with fish and turtle. The albicore, 
bonito, ray, sword-fish, shark, porpoise, and dolphin, 
are among the large fish, besides which there is 
an almost endless variety of rock-fish, which are 
remarkably good. 

The only venomous reptiles found on the islands, 
are a species of centipedes, and a small kind of 
scorpion. There are several species of snakes, all of 
which are esteemed good food by the natives. 



CHAPTER II. 

INHABITANTS OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 

Two Races — Origin — Language— Personal appearance — Tattooing 
— Dress — Shaving — Menial capacity — Generosity — Domestic 
habits — Amusements— Marriage— Polygamy — Treatment of Fe- 
males — Infanticide— Mode of salutation — Joy manifested by weep- 
ing — Mourning customs — Diseases — Native Physicians — Moral 
Character. 

The islands of the Pacific Ocean are inhabited by 
two races of men, which, though in some respects 
resembling each other, exhibit traces of distinct 
origin. One race, like that of the negro, is charac- 
terized by a black skin and crisped hair. The other 
resembles the Malays. The skin is of a bright cop- 
per color, the hair long, black, and glossy. The 
first race belongs to Australasia, or (as it is called by 
Mr. Williams) Western Polynesia ; the latter inhabit 
Eastern Polynesia, including those islands in the 
Southern Ocean of which we design to speak. Al- 
though the inhabitants of these islands exhibit the 
same general characteristics, the people of each clus- 
ter are marked by some peculiarities. 

Respecting the origin of the inhabitants of the 



40 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

South Sea Islands, there exist among them many tra- 
ditions. These are often contradictory, and no 
information can be derived from them in regard 
to the country from which the race originally came. 
Mr. Williams thinks that " their physical confor- 
mation, their general character, and their Malay 
countenance, furnish indubitable evidence of their 
Asiatic origin/' The language also of the Eastern 
Polynesians presents a striking resemblance to that 
spoken by the Malays, and their manners and cus- 
toms are in many respects similar. 

Mr. Ellis, in his " Polynesian Researches/' admits 
that there is very strong evidence that the inhabitants 
of the islands came from Malay countries lying to 
the west. But he still seems to be of opinion that 
the objections to this theory are unanswerable. 
There are, he says, many points of resemblance be- 
tween the Polynesians and the inhabitants of Mexico 
and some parts of South America. If the natives 
of the South Sea Islands did not come from America, 
the subject, he thinks, is involved in inexplicable mys- 
tery. The difficulties in the way of the passage of the 
Malays to these islands are three ; the distance of the 
Malay coast from Tahiti and the other islands (7,000 
miles) ; the prevalence of the easterly trade-winds 
within the tropics ; and the unfitness of the native 
canoes for so long a voyage. These objections Mr. 
Williams answers, by supposing the voyage from 
Malaya to Tahiti to have been performed by passing 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 41 

from group to group in successive stages, the longest 
of which would be only 700 miles. In reply to the 
second objection, it is stated that the trade-winds are 
not so invariable as has been supposed. Every two 
months westerly winds prevail for a few days, espe- 
cially in February, when a wind blows which the 
natives call the Westerly Twins. Mr. Williams says 
that he has himself sailed 1,600 miles due east in a 
few days, a distance more than double the longest 
stage from Sumatra to Tahiti. It must not be sup- 
posed, adds Mr. Williams, that the progenitors of the 
South Sea Islanders came from the native regions of 
their ancestors in the paltry canoes which they now 
use, but in such proas as the fierce and enterprising 
Malays have long had in use. These proas were 
fitted by their size to undertake considerable voyages, 
and capable from their immense numbers, of contend- 
ing with European squadrons. There is good evi- 
dence that the islanders formerly had much larger 
canoes, and made longer voyages, than at present. 
Rather than believe that the inhabitants of the Pacific 
Ocean came from South America, Mr. Williams 
would even suppose that the aborigines of America 
found their way from Asia to that continent through 
the islands of the Pacific. 

There is, however, still a mystery connected with 
the subject. How came the negro race, inhabiting 
the islands of Western Polynesia or Australasia, to be 
interposed between the copper-colored inhabitants of 
Eastern Polynesia and the Asiatic countries from 



42 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

which the latter are supposed to have migrated ? 
The hypothesis which Mr. Williams suggests in 
relation to this is, that the black race may have come 
from those Asiatic Islands whose inhabitants they 
resemble, and that they formerly occupied all the 
Polynesian Islands. The Malays coming later suc- 
ceeded in exterminating the other race from the 
smaller islands, but could not accomplish this in 
New Guinea, New Britain, and the large islands of 
Western Polynesia.* The same opinion had been 
previously expressed by La Perouse. That intel- 
ligent navigator thought he could perceive, in the 
islands which he visited, evident traces of a mixture 
of the two races. " They [the black race] were not 
to be subjugated in New Guinea, New Britain, and 
the New Hebrides ; but being overcome in the more 
eastern islands, which were too small to afford them 
a retreat in the centre, they mixed with the conquer- 
ing nation. I was struck with these two very dis- 
tinct races in the islands of Navigators', and cannot 
attribute to them any other origin." f Dr. Lang, 
in his " View of the Polynesian Nation," is de- 
cidedly of the opinion that the Polynesians of the 
South Sea Islands came from Sumatra, Java, and 
other islands of the Indian Archipelago, and that 
the inhabitants of the latter passed originally from 
the mainland of Asia. In support of this opinion, 
he states many points of resemblance between the 

* Missionary Enterprises, pp. 453 — 458. f Voyage, iii. 115. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 43 

Polynesians and the Asiatics ; such as the institu- 
tions of Caste, and Taboo, the figure of their idols 
and other images, their physical conformation, and 
general character, numerous existing customs, their 
clothing, and above all the identity of language, 
which he illustrates in many particulars. It was from 
the latter argument that La Perouse drew a similar 
conclusion. He had with him, in his voyage, a 
native of Manilla, (where the language, he affirms, is 
well known to be derived from the Malay,) who 
understood and explained the greater part of the 
words used in the islands which he visited. " It 
appears to me evident that all these different nations 
are the progeny of Malay colonies, which in some 
age extremely remote, conquered the islands they 
inhabit. The arts, which they, perhaps, brought 
with them, may have been lost for want of materials 
and instruments to practise them ; but the identity of 
language, like Ariadne's Clue, enables the observer 
to follow all the windings of this new labyrinth. 5 ' "It 
may be objected, perhaps, that it must have been 
very difficult for the Malays to make their way from 
west to east, to arrive at these different islands ; but 
the westerly winds blow as frequently as the easterly 
in the vicinity of the equator, along a zone of seven 
or eight degrees from north to south, where the wind 
is so variable, that it is hardly more difficult to navi- 
gate east than west/' * The idea that the origin of 

* Voyage, iii. 114—116. 



44 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the inhabitants of the islands is to be traced to South 
America, Dr. Lang regards as " amazingly preposter- 
ous." This " singular hypothesis" of De Zuniga, a 
Spanish author of a history of the Philippine Islands, 
is built upon two arguments, the supposed uniform 
prevalence of easterly winds in the South Seas, and 
the resemblance which that writer finds between the 
language, and the manners and customs of the South 
Sea Islanders and those of the Indians of the Ameri- 
can continent. The former argument is altogether 
untenable, because it is founded on an error in point 
of fact, and the latter Dr. Lang disposes of by sup- 
posing that the Americans came from the South Sea 
Islands, and not the South Sea Islanders from 
America. The west coast of South America is 
lashed incessantly by a tremendous surge. It is 
utterly incredible, he thinks, that the Indians of that 
continent, who neither are nor ever have been, a mari- 
time people, should have launched forth from such a 
shore for the chance of finding land amid the billows 
of a boundless ocean. It is, in his view, much more 
easy to believe that the Malays, who are well known 
to have been for ages not only a powerful nation, but 
a seafaring and adventurous race, accustomed to long 
voyages, should have passed from island to island 
through the Pacific, even to the American continent. 
" In short, I conceive there is abundant reason to 
believe that America was originally peopled from the 
continent of Asia ; not, as is generally supposed, by 
way of the Aleutian Islands at the entrance of 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 45 

Behring's Straits, but by way of the South Sea 
Islands, and across the widest part of the Pacific 
Ocean. " " From the peculiar character of their 
ancient civilization, from the manners and customs 
of their uncivilized tribes, and from the general 
structure and analogy of their language, I conceive 
we are warranted to conclude, that the Indo- Ameri- 
cans are the same people as the South Sea Islanders, 
the Malays of the Indian Archipelago, and the Indo- 
Chinese nations of Eastern Asia ; and that the conti- 
nent of America was originally peopled from the 
scattered islands of the Pacific. " * 

There are eight distinct dialects in the Polynesian 
language. The resemblance which exists between 
them is, however, so strong, that with little variation 
one language can be spoken by the inhabitants of all 
the islands. It abounds in vowels, and all their syl- 
lables end with a vowel. On this account, as well as 
for other reasons, it was extremely difficult to acquire 
a knowledge of it or to reduce it to a written system. 

The inhabitants of those groups of islands to which 
this work is confined, are distinguished by vivacity, 
and move with quickness and ease. The men are 
generally tall, often more than six feet high. Their 
forms are well proportioned and symmetrical. The 
women, though they often present elegant models of 
the human figure, are inferior, in appearance, to the 
other sex. The chiefs are men of uncommon size — 

* View of the Polynesian Nation, pages 86 and 148. 



46 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

a fact which has induced some to believe that they 
are the descendants of a distinct, and superior race. 
This, however, is not probable. It is more likely 
that their physical superiority is to be attributed 
to the different treatment which the sons of 
chiefs received in infancy and childhood. They 
often had three or four nurses, and the most scru- 
pulous attention was paid to diet and bathing. 
Mr. Williams mentions a chief of the island of 
Manono, whom he describes as one of the largest 
and most powerful men he ever saw. " His muscular 
and bony frame brought forcibly to mind those of 
ancient days, c the shaft of whose spear was like a 
weaver's beam.' Men of ordinary size would be as 
grasshoppers in his hand." 

Tattooing was common in most of the groups of 
the Pacific. It was generally commenced at the age 
of eight or ten years, and continued at intervals till 
twenty or thirty. It was considered a personal orna- 
ment, and was practised by all classes and by both 
sexes. The operation was so painful that a whole 
figure could rarely be completed at once. Much taste 
and elegance were often displayed in the arrangement 
of the figures. They were first drawn on the skin 
with a piece of charcoal. The instruments used for 
perforating the skin were constructed of the bones of 
birds or fishes, fastened with fine thread to a small 
stick. The coloring fluid was made of the kernel of 
the candle-nut, baked, and reduced to charcoal, and 
then mixed with oil. The points of the instrument 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 47 

having been dipped in this fluid, and applied to the 
surface of the body, a blow upon the handle punc- 
tured the skin and injected the dye. 

The dress of the islanders was various in form, 
color, and texture. It was always light and loose, 
and often elegant. All classes used the same mate- 
rials for clothing, and the dress of the two sexes dif- 
fered but little. Both men and women wore folds of 
cloth round the body. Some of the former wore a 
garment called a tibuta or tiputa. It extended below 
the knee, was open at the sides, and had a hole cut 
in the middle, through which to pass the head. The 
women wore the ahu-pu in the form of a scarf over 
their shoulders. With the exception of the ornament 
of a bunch of flowers, or a wreath of cocoanut leaves, 
with which the forehead was sometimes shaded, the 
head was uncovered. One of the missionaries gives 
a graphic description of the appearance of a party of 
native women whom he saw at one of the settlements. 
" The principal personage was tall and well propor- 
tioned. Her dress consisted of a shaggy, red mat, 
bound round her body. The upper part of her per- 
son was anointed with sweet-scented oil tinged with 
turmeric rouge. Rows of large blue beads decorated 
her neck, and formed bracelets for her arms. Her 
head was shorn very bare, with the exception of a 
single tuft about the size of a crown piece over the 
left temple. From this hung a little lock of hair 
about six inches in length, which dangled carelessly 
about her cheek." 



48 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

The unmarried females wore a white instead of a 
red mat, were neither anointed nor colored with 
rouge, and had a profusion of graceful curls on one 
side of the head, while the other was shaved. The 
females generally wore their hair short, the men 
sometimes long, sometimes short. It was often 
braided in a kind of cue behind, or wound in a knot 
on the top of the head. 

The men, like the savages of America, plucked 
out their beard by the roots, or shaved it off with a 
shark's tooth. Some, however, allowed the beard to 
grow, and braided it together. Since the islanders 
have become civilized, they all shave once a week, 
and the chiefs more frequently. One man shaves 
another, and in return the former is shaved by the 
latter. Soap is almost entirely dispensed with, and 
the razor is sometimes " little better than an iron 
hoop." The operation of shaving is thus described 
by Mr. Ellis. " When the edge of the razor or knife 
is adjusted, the person who is to undergo the opera- 
tion, in order to be quite stationary, lies flat on his 
back upon the ground, sometimes in his house, at 
other times under the shade of a tree, and his friend 
kneels down over him, and commences his labor. 
When he has finished he lays himself down, and the 
man who has been shaved gets up, and performs the 
same office for his friend. Sometimes the razor 
becomes dull, and something more than a little addi- 
tional strength is necessary. A whetstone is then 
applied to the edge ; but if this is not at hand, the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 49 

man gets up half shaved, and both go together to the 
nearest grindstone. The transition from the grind- 
stone to the chin is sometimes direct, without any 
intermediate application to the edge of the razor." * 
The hone and the strap have, however, been intro- 
duced, and will probably soon supersede the use of 
the grindstone and whetstone. 

The mental capacity of the South Sea Islanders is 
thought by the missionaries not to be inferior to that 
of Europeans. f Children learn to read, write, and 
cypher, and readily commit their lessons to memory. 
Many who commenced learning the alphabet at 
thirty or forty years of age, were able to read in the 
Testament in the course of twelve months. They 
commit to memory with ease large portions of Scrip- 
ture, and sometimes whole books. At an early 
period of the missionary operations among them, they 
made considerable progress in the use of numbers, 
and learned with facility the first rules of arithmetic. 
They are remarkably curious and inquisitive, and 
some of them are ingenious and imitative. They 
often ask questions of the most interesting character 
and are anxious to acquire knowledge. The islanders 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 112. 

t " I shall not accuse them of a want of understanding'. 
Their skill and ingenuity in the few necessary instances of 
industry, which, notwithstanding the abundance of the coun- 
try, and the temperature of the climate, they cannot dispense 
with, would be sufficient to destroy such an assertion.'^itott- 
gainvillc's Voyage, p. 258. 

4 



50 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

are generous and hospitable. It is their custom to 
offer to strangers presents, consisting of cocoanuts, 
bananas, taro, and other eatables. A missionary 
states that when he landed at one of the islands for 
the first time, some of the chiefs and people came on 
board with pigs, bananas, and cocoanuts for sale. 
On being told who he was and the object of his visit, 
one of the chiefs ordered the pigs and every thing in 
his canoe to be arranged on deck, and then present- 
ing them to him stated that, had he known who he 
was, he should not have offered any thing for sale. 
Every canoe around the ship followed the example of 
the chief. On another occasion, after an interview 
with one of the chiefs to whom the same missionary 
had given some presents, the chief informed his 
people that a quantity of property had been given 
him by the " English chiefs," and that they would 
want something to eat on their return home. "For," 
said he, " there are no pigs running about on the 
sea, neither is there any bread-fruit growing there." 
On hearing this, the whole company scampered 
away, and in about an hour returned bringing w T ith 
them fifteen pigs, with a large quantity of bread-fruit, 
yams, and other vegetables, the whole of which was 
presented to the missionaries. 

At another time the attention of the same mis- 
sionary was arrested, at the close of a religious meet- 
ing which he had been holding in one of the settle- 
ments, by the appearance of about seventy females, 
bringing gifts and following each other in " goose- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 51 

like procession." These were preceded by four men, 
each of whom was bearing on his shoulders a baked 
pig. On entering the house where the missionary 
was, they approached him and deposited their bur- 
dens at his feet. Each of the women then laid down 
her present, and these were so numerous, that both 
Mr. Williams and a chief who was with him were 
speedily concealed by the cocoanuts, bread-fruit, and 
yams, which were piled up before them. 

The habits of living among the islanders were 
simple. They retired early, and rose with the break 
of day. Their frugal diet and freedom from care, as 
well as their roving habits, no doubt contributed to 
their health, and perhaps were the cause of the 
longevity which some of them are said to have 
attained. 

The indolence of the South Sea Islanders has long 
been proverbial. This is doubtless to be attributed 
to the influence of the climate and the fertility of the 
soil. To the heat of a tropical sun, and their proximity 
to the sea, is owing also their extreme fondness for 
the water. In this originated the cleanly and health- 
ful practice of frequent bathing (often two or three 
times a day) in which all classes delight. 

In temper the natives are cheerful and good-natured, 
mirthful, and often humorous. But on the other 
hand their domestic habits are unsocial, and their 
hours for rest and meals irregular. It is stated by the 
missionaries that they seldom went into a house in 
the day time without finding some of its inmates 



52 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

asleep, or in the night without finding some one 
awake. 

Like other barbarous tribes they were extremely 
fond of ornaments, and formerly spent much time in 
decorating themselves for their feasts and dances. 
The love of pleasure was strongly exhibited among 
them, and no small portion of their time was devoted 
to games and sports. Wrestling, boxing,* club- 
fighting, canoe-rowing, and fowling, were favorite 
pastimes ; but their principal am sement was the 
dance, at which songs previously composed were 
sung. 

* Maurelle, the commander of a Spanish vessel which visited 
some of the South Sea Islands in 1781, gives the following 
account of the games at one of the groups. " These wrestling 
combats lasted two hours, one of the antagonists had his arm 
broken ; I saw others receive terrible blows. While the strug- 
gle lasted, other champions advanced in the ring, their fists 
wrapped round with large cords, serving them as a kind of 
gauntlet, anciently used by the athletae. This species of com- 
bat was much more terrible than the wrestling : as soon as the 
combat commenced, the combatants struck each other on the 
forehead, eyebrows, cheeks, on every part of the face ; and 
those who received these formidable strokes, became more 
impetuous and enraged : I saw some irrecoverably felled by the 
very first blow they received. The king gave orders that 
certain women should fight with their fists as well as the men ; 
and they did it with so much fury, that they would not have 
left a tooth in each other's head, had they not been separated 
now and then. This sight touched me to the very soul : I 
begged the King to put an end to the combat ; he acceded to 
my request, and all of them did me honor for the compassion I 
had shown to these young females." — La Perouses Voyage, i. 
383, 384. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 53 

The most common musical instruments were the 
flute and several kinds of drums. Their music was 
loud and boisterous, and deficient in every quality 
that could render it agreeable to one accustomed to 
harmony. 

Surrounded as they are on all sides by the water, 
it is not surprising that they had many aquatic sports. 
One of the principal amusements of the children 
consisted in erecting a stage near the margin of the 
sea, and leaping into the water. Here they would 
often chase one another and dive to an incredible 
depth. They were also very fond of constructing 
small canoes, ships, or boats, and floating them in 
the sea. 

Among the Tahitians marriages were often cele- 
brated when the females were twelve or thirteen years 
of age, and the males two or three years older. The 
parties were generally betrothed at an early age. 
The principal part of the marriage ceremony consist- 
ed in the bridegroom's throwing a piece of cloth 
over the bride, or the friends throwing it over both. 
An interesting account of the marriage of a chief 
of one of the islands and a young woman eighteen 
years of age, is given by one of the missionaries. 
A group of women, seated under the shade of a 
tree, chanted in a lively air the heroic deeds of the 
chieftain and his ancestors. Opposite to them, 
beneath the branches of a bread-fruit tree, sat the 
bride, a tall and beautiful young woman. Her dress 
was a fine mat fastened round the waist, reaching 



54 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

nearly to her ancles. A wreath of leaves and flowers, 
tastefully entwined, decorated her brow. The upper 
part of her person was anointed with sweet-scented 
cocoanut-oil tinged with turmeric rouge, and round 
her neck were two rows of large blue beads. Anoth- 
er company of chanters soon joined the first, and both 
together united in one general chorus, which seemed 
to be a recital of the valiant deeds of the chief and 
his ancestors. A dance was then performed by four 
young women, daughters of chiefs, while the bride 
recited some of the exploits of her forefathers. To 
the motions of the dancers and the recital of the 
bride, three or four elderly women were beating time 
upon a mat with short sticks, occasionally joining in 
the chorus. 

Polygamy prevailed extensively in the Friendly and 
Society Islands. Almost all the chiefs had two or 
three wives, and many of them a much larger number, 
Females at most of the islands were treated as in- 
feriors, and were not allowed to eat the same kinds of 
food, or to dwell under the same roof, with their hus- 
bands. They were also forbidden to prepare food at 
the same fire, or to eat in the same apartment with 
the men. So polluting were females considered that 
they were never allowed to enter the sacred inclosures. 
They were also denied any share of their father's pos- 
sessions, under the pretext that " their person was 
their portion." At Mangaia the females were employ- 
ed in planting taro, and keeping the beds in order. 
This vegetable was cultivated in swampy places, and 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 55 

those to whose care it was assigned (generally girls 
under sixteen years of age and women who had passed 
the prime of life) were obliged to wade for hours in 
mud two or three feet deep. 

Notwithstanding the treatment which the females 
received, the missionaries bear testimony to their 
sympathy with their husbands in affliction, and to 
their devoted attention to them. Says one of them, 
" Enter their habitations when we would, by night or 
by day, the head of the afflicted husband was in the 
lap of his affectionate wife ; while she beat off the 
flies, and bathed the temples with water." 

In the Georgian and Society Islands, infanticide 
prevailed to an incredible extent, but it was not prac- 
tised at the Navigators' or Hervey Islands. It is stated 
by one of the missionaries, that on a certain occasion 
he inquired of three women who were sitting together, 
how many children they had destroyed. " One replied 
with a faltering voice, I have destroyed nine. The 
second with eyes suffused with tears, said, I have 
destroyed seven, and the third informed him she had 
destroyed Jive" To such an extent was this cruel 
and unnatural practice carried, that it is the opinion 
of the missionaries that two thirds of the children 
were murdered by their own parents. Of those who 
were suffered to live, it is stated by Mr. Ellis, that 
" their years of childhood and youth were passed in 
indolence, irregularity, and unrestrained indulgence 
in whatever afforded gratification." 



56 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

The South Sea Islanders almost always salute their 
friends by rubbing noses and falling on each other's 
neck. They consider our mode of saluting by 
shaking hands as extremely cold and formal. When 
an inferior greets a superior, he rubs his nose on the 
hand of the superior, and sometimes ventures to kiss 
his hand. 

A missionary relates an anecdote of his little boy, 
a child of four years old, who once visited the island 
of Aitutaki with his father. The natives had never 
before seen a European child, and were much attracted 
by him. Every one wished to rub noses with the 
little fellow, and some of them begged his father to 
give him to them, saying, " that they would take the 
greatest care of him and make him their king." 

The islanders always manifest joy by weeping. 
When a husband or son returned to his family, after 
a season of absence or exposure to danger, his arrival 
was greeted not only with the cordial welcome, and 
the warm embrace, but loud wailing was uttered, and 
an instrument armed with shark's teeth applied to 
their body, in proportion to the joy experienced. 
On the death of a relation or friend, it was their 
invariable practice to wail in a loud and affecting 
manner, tear their hair, rend their garments, and cut 
themselves with shark's teeth or knives. They were 
in the habit of embalming the bodies of the chiefs and 
took great pains to preserve them entire. 

Diseases among the South Sea Islanders were 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 57 

formerly comparatively few. Those to which Euro- 
pean children are subject are unknown among them. 
Scrofulous complaints are common, and consumption 
is of frequent occurrence. Spinal complaints are also 
very common. They usually commence early in life, 
and terminate either in death, or in a large curvature 
of the spine. Persons deformed by this disease are 
frequently to be met with in the Society Islands. 
The same complaint is sometimes followed by 
blindness. 

When a chief was taken sick, it was supposed to 
be owing to some insult offered to the gods or to the 
priests. Costly gifts were presented to the gods in 
order to avert their wrath ; ceremonies were per- 
formed and prayers offered. If these proved unavail- 
ing, human victims were sacrificed, and if this did 
not effect the restoration of the chief, the family god 
was abandoned and another chosen in its place. 
In cases of sickness among the common people or 
the aged they received but little attention. If they 
were not soon relieved, they were left to themselves 
and many no doubt perished from hunger. Some- 
times the sick were buried alive; so destitute of natu- 
ral affection were these degraded heathen. The 
changes which the gospel has wrought among them, 
in relation to this and other points, will be evident 
when we come to speak of that subject. 

There were many native physicians, some of whom 
appear to have had considerable success in removing 
diseases. Their medicines consisted of vegetable 



58 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

productions alone, and these prepared in the most 
simple manner. Many of their applications, however, 
were powerful ; and some caused almost instant 
death. Instead of the warm bath, the physician 
ordered the patient to be seated on a pile of heated 
stones, and covered with a thick cloth. A profuse 
perspiration followed, and in this state the patient not 
unfrequently would leave the pile of stones and plunge 
into the sea. The effect was not such as we should 
naturally expect, for the practice rarely produced any 
injury. 

As soon as a person was taken sick, a priest who 
pretended to have received from the gods a knowledge 
of the healing arts, was sent for. On his arrival, a 
present was handed him as an offering to the god, 
and a roll of cloth as his own fee. " He began by 
calling on the name of his god, beseeching him to 
abate his anger towards the sufferer, to say what 
would propitiate him, or what applications would 
afford relief." He then compounded the medicine, 
pretending that he was instructed by the god what 
herbs to select, and how to mix them. The composi- 
tion of the medicines was kept a profound secret, and 
the priest or physician was very desirous to have the 
report of his skill extensively circulated. Their prac- 
tice of surgery was much more simple than the pre- 
paration of their medicines. There were some cele- 
brated oculists among them, and the surgeons were 
often very successful in performing operations. 
Native medicines and native practitioners, though 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 59 

formerly much in demand, have been entirely aban- 
doned since the people have learnt the use of foreign 
remedies, and found them so much more efficacious 
in removing disease. 

We would gladly close this chapter without advert- 
ing to the state of morals among the islanders ; but 
justice to the subject will not allow us to pass it by 
entirely. The beauty of the scenery, the mildness of 
the climate, and the abundance and spontaneousness 
of the productions of the soil, made this region appear 
to the early voyagers like a terrestrial paradise. The 
interesting personal appearance of the inhabitants, 
combined with the bland and courteous manners 
which some of the islanders, especially the Tahitians, 
exhibited in their first intercourse with strangers, 
disposed them to overlook the universal thievishness, 
and the general licentiousness which they could not 
help observing, and to regard the population of this 
newly discovered quarter of the globe, as the happiest, 
and most innocent portion of mankind. But they 
were soon, and sometimes fatally undeceived. It was 
found that the treacherous and bloody traits of the 
savage character were not wanting here, and that 
dark and dreadful crimes, as well as odious and 
brutal vices were by no means rare. The moral 
habits of the islanders were many of them such, that 
the veil of oblivion ought forever to hide them from 
the view. The revolting forms in which human 
depravity developed itself among them will not bear 
the light. The following extracts from writers of 



60 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

very different professions, a navigator, a geographer, 
and a missionary, will sufficiently illustrate the state- 
ment which has just been made. " They had sold at 
our market more than two hundred wood-pigeons, 
which would only eat out of the hand ; and a number 
of the most beautiful turtle-doves aud paroquets, 
equally tame. What cold imagination could separate 
the idea of happiness from so enchanting a place ? 
These islanders, said we, a hundred times over, are, 
without doubt, the happiest beings on earth. Sur- 
rounded by their wives and children, they pass their 
peaceful days in innocence and repose ; no care dis- 
turbs them but that of bringing up their birds, and, 
like the first man, of gathering, without labor, the 
fruit that grows over their heads. We were deceived. 
This delightful country was not the abode of inno- 
cence. We perceived, indeed, no arms; but the 
bodies of the natives covered over with scars, proved 
that they were often at war, or else quarrelling among 
themselves ; whilst their features announced a ferocity, 
that was not perceptible in the countenances of the 
women. Nature had, no doubt, stamped this charac- 
ter on their faces, by way of showing, that the half 
savage, living in a state of anarchy, is a more mis- 
chievous being than the most ferocious of the brute 
creation/ 5 * 

These reflections were made at one of the Naviga- 
tors' Islands, and they were interrupted, or, perhaps, 

* La Perouse's Voyage, iii. 73. 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 61 

the closing thoughts suggested, by the return of two 
out of four boats which had been sent on shore for 
water, which came back pursued by a horde of sava- 
ges, and bringing in them twenty men badly wounded, 
having left behind the dead bodies of M. De Langle, 
commander of one of the vessels, and eleven of the 
crew. The party had been attacked in the midst of 
seeming friendship, without the slightest provocation, 
and while the natives stopped to tear in pieces the 
boats, thirty-nine out of sixty-one men escaped with 
extreme difficulty. " I willingly abandon to others," 
adds M. La Perouse, in the midst of his grief, "the 
care of writing the uninteresting history of such 
barbarous nations. A stay of twenty-four hours, and 
the relation of our misfortunes, suffice to show their 
atrocious manners, and their arts, as well as the pro- 
ductions of one of the finest countries in the universe." 
" Amid the lavish kindness with which Europeans 
were greeted, they soon discovered an universal pro- 
pensity to pilfering. * * * # These faults were, 
doubtless, aggravated by the attractive nature of these 
new and tempting objects ; but it was moreover soon 
evident, that their dances and other amusements were 
conducted in a manner the most revolting to decorum, 
and that there existed in Otaheite a society called 
arreoy, who made it a regular system to put their 
offspring to death. Nor was infanticide the only 
practice marked by the ferocity of savage life. In 
many of the islands cannibalism is still practised, 
and in the most polished there remain traces of its 



62 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

former existence. Even in Otaheite, war is carried 
on in the most atrocious spirit of vengeance. The 
victor, after slaying his unresisting enemy, dreadfully 
mangles his body, exclaiming, ' You killed my 
father ! you robbed me of my wife ! ' " &c.* 

" Their humor and their jests were but rarely what 
might be termed innocent sallies of wit ; they were 
in general low and immoral to a disgusting degree. 
Their common conversation, when engaged in their 
ordinary avocations, was often such as the ear could 
not listen to without pollution, presenting images, 
and conveying sentiments, whose most fleeting 
passage through the mind left contamination. 
Awfully dark, indeed, was their moral character, and 
notwithstanding the apparent mildness of their dispo- 
sition, and the cheerful vivacity of their conversation, 
no portion of the human race was ever, perhaps, sunk 
lower in brutal licentiousness, and moral degradation 
than this isolated people."! 

* Murray's Encyclopaedia of Geography, iii. 155, 156. 
t Polynesian Researches, i. 87. 



CHAPTER III. 

STATE OF THE ARTS WAR. 

Houses — Furniture— Mode of obtaining Fire— Agricultural Implements 
—Making Cloth— F sh-hooks— Anec lole— M< d s of taki g Fish- 
Canoes— Frequency of Wars— Their desolating character — Dress 
of Warriors — Weapons — Naval Engagements — Battles on Land — 
Wild Men — Treatment of Capiives— Cannibalism — Treaties of 
Peace. 

When the missions were commenced in the South 
Sea Islands, society had not reached that point at 
which a division of labor takes place. There were 
no established trades, and all the arts were of course in 
a very imperfect state. Indeed it may almost seem 
absurd to speak of the existence of arts among so 
rude a people. Previous to their intercourse with 
Europeans, the use of iron was unknown to the 
natives. Long before the missionaries settled among 
them, however, many of them had learnt its value 
from the ships that visited their coasts. But of the 
method of working it they were still ignorant. Their 
occupations, though few } were as much varied as 
could be expected of a savage, or half-civilized people. 
The principal were building, agriculture, making 



64 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

canoes, furniture, and implements of various kinds, 
manufacturing cloth, and fishing. 

The houses of the natives were little more than 
thatched roofs or sheds, supported by posts and 
rafters. The timber in general use, was the wood of 
the bread-fruit tree. The size of the house varied 
with the number of persons to be accommodated. 
Those belonging to the king and chiefs were com- 
monly large, and sometimes capable of containing a 
thousand people. The houses were square, or oblong, 
according to the taste of the owner. The most 
common form was parallel along the sides, and circu- 
lar at the ends. Some of them were open at the sides, 
but generally poles two or three inches in diameter 
were fixed in the earth at the distance of an inch and 
a half or two inches from each other. These poles 
reached from the floor to the roof, and were kept in 
place by sticks fastened horizontally across them. 
A dwelling constructed after this fashion could not 
have been in appearance very unlike a large bird-cage. 
Their buildings were thatched with cocoanut and 
palm leaves. The inside of the chiefs' houses was 
often ornamented with beautifully fringed matting. 
The floor was covered with long dried grass, or mats. 
If the family was large, little huts were sometimes 
erected near the principal building, for the accommo- 
dation of the children and servants at night : but the 
greater part of the houses contained only one room. 
Their beds consisted of a coarse kind of matting, 
made of palm leaves woven by the hand. The rank 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 65 

of the proprietor could usually be determined by the 
quality of his mats. These mats were generally 
about six feet wide, and ten or twelve in length. 
Those belonging to the chiefs, however, were often 
of a much larger size. 

With the exception of mats and cloth, the men 
furnished the principal articles of household furniture. 
These consisted of some wooden stools, pillows, and 
a few wooden dishes. The pillows were ten or 
twelve inches in length, and four or five inches high, 
cut out of a single piece of wood, and curved on 
the upper side so as to fit the head. The natives 
were accustomed to sit cross-legged on mats, but 
occasionally used a stool. The stool or iri, though 
much larger than a pillow, was of a similar construc- 
tion. It was sometimes four or five feet long, and 
three feet wide, yet always cut out of one piece of 
wood. The principal dish was called umete. Those 
belonging to the chiefs were often six or eight feet 
long, a foot and a half wide, and twelve inches deep, 
and resembled a canoe rather than receptacles for 
food. The dishes in common use were two or three 
feet long, and twelve or eighteen inches wide. Each 
dish had four feet cut out of the same piece of wood. 
The papahia or mortar was used for pounding bread- 
fruit and plantains, which was done with a stone 
pestle called a pcnu. Their drinking cups and ves- 
sels for washing their hands were made of the cocoa- 
nut shell, and were often beautifully carved. A 
5 



QQ SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

piece of bamboo-cane was their only substitute for a 
knife, but this they used for a variety of purposes. 

The islanders had an ingenious way of obtaining 
fire. A man took a piece of dry wood ten or twelve 
inches long, and rubbed it with another piece sharp- 
ened to a point. When he had scratched a groove in 
it several inches in length, he moved the pointed 
piece rapidly over the other. Some dust soon col- 
lected in the groove, which speedily ignited. Dry 
grass was instantly held to it, and kindled by the 
breath, or by a swift motion in the air. The operation 
did not occupy more than one or two minutes. To 
the eye of a stranger this is a singular process, but to 
the natives our mode of producing light with phospho- 
ric matches is much more singular and curious. In 
the Journal of Tyerman and Bennet there is an amus- 
ing account of the astonishment of the natives on 
seeing light produced in this way. One evening 
after a religious meeting, these gentlemen were fol- 
lowed home by a number of natives, who w r ished to 
see the " fire-works " which were understood to be 
in the possession of the strangers. It was, at first, 
difficult to conjecture what could have given rise to 
such a report ; but the truth was at length suggested 
by the recollection that some matches had been tried 
the day before. It was at once concluded that these 
were the mighty " fire-works " whose fame was noised 
abroad. The people were accordingly gratified with 
the sight of some matches, which ignited on being 
dipped into a phial containing a chemical preparation. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 67 

One of the chiefs, who happened to be present at the 
experiment, was struck with as much astonishment as 
if a miracle had been performed. " Being invited to 
dip a match himself, he held the apparatus at arms' 
length, and tremblingly complied. He succeeded, 
and was delighted with the result ; but his success 
could not embolden an ancient warrior, one who had 
fought many a battle, and faced the greatest dangers in 
the field, to touch the phial, or even to come near it." 

The agricultural implements possessed by the 
islanders were few in number. The principal one in 
use among them was a stick sharpened at the point, 
with which they loosened and turned up the earth. 
Their only tools were adzes made of stone, and 
chisels of bone. The adze they used for splitting 
bread-fruit, and the chisel was useful in house- 
building. 

The making of cloth and the weaving of mats 
constituted the principal occupation of the females. 
The Tahitian name for cloth is aim. The material 
used in the manufacture of it was the bark of the 
paper mulberry, the aoa, and the bread-fruit tree. 
The only apparatus was a wooden mallet fifteen or 
eighteen inches long, about two inches square, and 
round at one end. The sides of this mallet were 
grooved. On one side the grooves were very coarse, 
on the opposite very fine. A third side was either 
plain, or ribbed, and the fourth cut in small squares. 
The bark, after the outer coat had been scraped off, 
was beaten with a mallet, and then laid in water to 



68 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

soften. It was next placed lengthwise on a beam of 
wood and again beaten with the mallet, first with the 
rough side, and afterwards with the others. During 
the whole process the cloth was kept moist, and never 
laid aside without being wrapped in thick green 
leaves. By means of beating, the fibres of the bark 
became closely interwoven, and the product, when com- 
pleted, had often the appearance of having come from 
the loom.* When the piece was finished it was spread 
in the sun to be bleached. The color that resulted 
from this process depended on the material of which 
the article was made. Sometimes it was a light 
brown ; other pieces, made of different bark, were 
dark brown ; but that made of the paper mulberry 
could be bleached perfectly white. 

These pieces of cloth, which were sometimes four 
hundred yards in length, and three or four yards in 
width, when sufficiently bleached and dried, were 
rolled up into bales, and covered with matting. The 
natives of some of the islands have a variety of vege- 
table dyes, and often display considerable taste in the 
arrangement of the different colors, and figures. 
Their mode of obtaining patterns was novel and 

* The author has been presented with a piece of native cloth 
several yards in length, made by the inhabitants of one of the 
Sandwich Islands. It is of a pale yellow color, striped with 
brown. The fabric is light, and would make a pleasant sum- 
mer dress. It is, however, not very durable, and would not 
bear to be wet. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 69 

ingenious. Some of the most delicate ferns, or the 
most beautiful flowers, were selected and laid care- 
fully on the dye. When the surface of the flower 
was covered with coloring fluid, it was placed on the 
cloth and pressed gently down. The impression left 
was often clear and distinct. The natives of the 
Austral Islands fabricated great quantities of a 
kind of cloth, which was rendered impervious by 
being glazed on both sides, like oil-cloth, and var- 
nished with a vegetable gum. It was usually red 
on one side, and black on the other. 

This kind of work was not confined to the lower 
ranks in society. All classes of females were em- 
ployed in the same way, and the queen would have 
felt it derogatory to her rank to be surpassed by any 
other female in finishing a piece of cloth. 

The modes of taking fish, in use among the island- 
ers, were numerous. The net, and the spear, were 
sometimes employed, but the hook and line were more 
common. Their hooks were made of wood, shell, or 
bone. The wooden hooks were never barbed, but 
pointed, and curved inwards. They were usually 
three or four inches in length. Those used for taking 
sharks were twelve or fifteen inches long, and an inch 
in diameter. The bone hooks of the Society island- 
ers were made almost circular, so as to resemble a 
worm, and thus they answered the purpose of hook 
and bait. Some of their shell fish-hooks were cut and 
polished so as to resemble the body of a fish. By 



70 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

this deception large numbers of fish were taken 
while grasping after prey.* 

The natives prefer their own fish-hooks to those 
which have been introduced from England. They 
are, however, fond of making hooks from nails or 
iron wire, and although, in accomplishing their object, 
much patience is required, they set a high value on 
nails for this purpose. The point they sharpen by 
rubbing it on a stone, and a stone is also used to bend 
it to the proper shape. An amusing incident illustra- 
tive of the simplicity of the natives is mentioned by 
one of the missionaries. Perceiving in some nails 
which they had received a resemblance to the young 
shoots of trees, they at once concluded that they were 
a hard kind of plant. Wishing to obtain more of 
them they carried a part to the temple as an offering 
to the gods, and actually deposited the rest in the 
ground, in the anticipation of seeing an abundant crop, 

* The author has received from one of the missionaries at 
the Sandwich Islands, a fish-hook, made of bone. Very possi- 
bly it may be the bone of a human being, for to such a use 
were the bones of an enemy applied. It is four inches in length 
and of a propoitional size. The construction is the same as 
that of the hooks in use among us, except that as the bone 
could not be bent, it is made of two pieces. Bougainville ex- 
presses his admiration of the hooks and nets which he saw in 
Tahiti. " It is amazing with how much art their fishing 
tackle is contrived, their hooks are made of mother-of-pearl, as 
neatly wrought as if they were made with the help of our tools; 
their nets are exactly like ours, and knit with threads taken 
from the great American aloes." — Voyage, p. 258. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 71 

if not of ready-made fish-hooks, at least of excellent 
materials for the manufacture ! 

Fish were caught chiefly in the day-time, but not 
unfrequently parties went out at night, and fished by 
torch-light. Flying-fish can only be taken after dark. 
In pursuing them, double canoes, which were safer 
than single ones, were always used. A torch made 
of dried reeds tied together was lighted, and when all 
things were in readiness the rowers commenced 
pulling. Frightened by the noise of the oars, the 
fish darted back from the reef on which they were 
feeding towards the ocean, and were caught in the 
net that was then thrown over them. The torch, 
while it enabled the fisherman to see his prey, dazzled 
the eyes of the fish, so that often great numbers were 
taken in this way. 

The canoes of the islanders were of various forms 
and sizes. They were sometimes double, sometimes 
single. Those belonging to the chiefs had sterns, 
fifteen or sixteen feet above the water, which were 
often decorated with rudely carved figures. Their 
war canoes were much ornamented. " The stern 
was low, and covered, so as to afford a shelter from 
the stones and darts of the assailants. The bottom 
was round, the upper part of the sides narrower and 
perpendicular. " The prow terminated in the carved 
figure of a bird's head. The rowers sat on a sort of 
grating or net work which covered the hull, and pro- 
jected twelve or eighteen inches over the edge. On 
a platform near the centre the fighting men were 
stationed. 



72 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

The sacred canoes were more highly ornamented 
with feathers, and carving, than those intended for 
ordinary use. In these, small houses were built, 
where the image of the god was kept, and where 
prayers and offerings were presented. The double 
canoe was the most common. It was usually 
twenty or thirty feet long. The canoes of which 
it was composed were fastened together by curved 
pieces of wood, placed horizontally across their 
upper edges, and secured by strong lashings of 
thick cordage. There was another kind of double 
canoe which was called maihi or twins. It consisted 
of two canoes made out of one tree both exactly alike. 
They were light, swift, and safe. Single canoes were 
still more diversified in their structure. They were 
generally made of the trunk of a tree eighteen or 
twenty feet in length, rounded outside, and hollow 
within, and were called by the natives tipaihoe. 
Only two or three persons could be carried in safety 
in a single canoe, and they were but little used 
except along the shore, and in shallow water. The 
vaa-matu, or island canoe, is used for distant 
voyages. Planks twelve or fifteen inches wide are 
fastened to the left side, by two poles, one of which 
is straight and firm, the other curved and elastic. 
The object of this contrivance, which was called ama, 
or outrigger, was to keep the canoe from upsetting. 
When empty, the canoe, instead of floating upright, 
inclines to the left; but when laden, it becomes erect, 
while the outrigger floats on the surface of the water. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 73 

Wars, at most of the islands, were frequent and 
exceedingly destructive. At Hervey's Island, they 
occurred so often, and were so exterminating in their 
character, that the whole population was at one time 
reduced to about sixty. A few years afterwards, 
when this island was visited by one of the mission- 
aries, it was found that by repeated combats this 
little remnant of the former population had become 
smaller still, so that five men, three women, and 
a few children were the only survivors. When 
preparations were to be made for war, every thing 
else was neglected ; for war was considered the 
most important end of life, and training for its suc- 
cessful pursuit was held in the highest estimation. 
In time of war all who were capable of bearing arms 
were called on to join the forces of the chieftain to 
whom they belonged, and the farmers were obliged 
to render military service whenever their landlord 
required it. Those who had engaged in battle, and 
gained a victory, became celebrated for their valor, 
strength, and skill. They were called aito, or fight- 
ing men, a title to which the ambitious, and daring, 
aspired. 

The dress of the Tahitian warriors was singular, 
and often cumbersome. Around their heads they 
wore a quantity of cloth in the form of a turban, 
which not only increased their height, but broke the 
force of a blow. The head-dresses of the natives of 
the Austral Islands were often elegant and diversified 
in form. " The Rurutuan helmet was a cap fitted to 



74 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the head, and reaching to the ears, made of thick, 
stiff native cloth, on a cane frame work. The lower 
part of the front was ornamented with bunches of 
beautiful red and green feathers tastefully arranged, 
and above these, a line of the long, slender tail- 
feathers of the tropic, or man-of-war bird, was fixed 
on a wicker frame. The back part of the cap was 
covered with long, flowing hair, of a light brown or 
tawny color, said to be human beard. This was 
fastened to a slight net-work attached to the crown of 
the helmet, and being detached from any other part, 
often floated wildly in the wind, and increased the 
agitated appearance of the wearer. 5 '* 

The fau or helmet of the Georgian and Society 
islanders, though less complete, was far more impos- 
ing. " It was a cap fitted to the head, surrounded 
by a cylindrical structure of cane-work, ornamented 
with the dark, glossy feathers of aquatic birds. The 
hollow crown frequently towered two or three feet 
above the head, and, being curved at the top, ap- 
peared to nod or bend with every movement of the 
wearer." * This head-dress was in high estimation, 
and worn only by distinguished men. To subdue a 
man who wore a fau, was to perform one of their 
most honorable exploits. The great object of the 
warriors seems to have been, to make an imposing 
appearance, and to defend their persons. They went 
to war attired in their best clothes, perfumed with 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 232. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 75 

oil, and adorned with flowers. Their weapons were 
simple, and made of wood. They consisted chiefly 
of darts, spears, and clubs ; but they had also other 
and more destructive weapons. Of these the paeho 
was the principal. It resembled a club in appear- 
ance, and was armed on one side with shark's teeth. 
Another weapon was a short kind of sword, with 
three or four blades. Besides these, they were accus- 
tomed to use the serrated back-bone of a species of 
fish called the sting-ray, which being ragged on the 
edges, and barbed at the point, was often very de- 
structive. 

War was seldom proclaimed hastily, and the 
preparatory deliberations were frequent and pro- 
tracted. Great importance was attached to the will 
of the gods. If they were favorable, conquest was 
considered as sure, but if unfavorable, defeat, and 
perhaps death was certain. For the purpose of ascer- 
taining the decision of the gods, divination was em- 
ployed, and in connection with it offerings were pre- 
sented to the divinities invoked. Success or failure 
was inferred from the appearance of the animal offered, 
either before or after it was placed on the altar. 

Many of their most sanguinary battles were fought 
at sea. Their fleets were large, often amounting to 
ninety war canoes, each twenty fathoms long. " When 
the engagement took place within the reefs, the 
canoes were often lashed together in a line, the stem 
of one being fastened to the stern of the canoe before 
it. This they called api, and adopted it to prevent 



76 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the breaking of their line or retreat from the com- 
bat." The opposing fleet was sometimes fastened in 
the same way. The two lines of canoes, with stream- 
ers flying, were paddled out to sea, the warriors occu- 
pying the platform erected for their defence, from 
which they were enabled to see every part of the canoe. 
" At a distance stones were slung ; on a nearer 
approach light spears or javelins were hurled, until 
they came close alongside of each other, when, under 
the excitement of rage, infatuation, ambition, or 
despair, they fought with the most obstinate 
fury." * There was no retreat, and both parties 
acted under the influence of desperation. Some- 
times the two fleets retired without a decisive 
engagement, but when either of them became 
sure of success, the warriors of that party swept 
through the other, destroying all who did not escape 
by leaping into the sea. On land, the combatants 
met in an open plain, and each army was arranged in 
rows four deep. The first row was armed with long 
spears, the second with clubs, the third was composed 
of young men with slings, the stones for which were 
all made round and smooth. t The fourth row con- 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 241 . 

t In the massacre of the crews of the boats mentioned in the 
preceding Chapter, the principal weapons of attack were 
" enormous stones, hurled by the savages ; " of which M. 
Boutin, who was wounded, says that, " being thrown with 
uncommon force and address, they produced almost the same 
effect as our bullets, and had the advantage of succeeding one 
another with greater rapidity." 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 77 

sisted of women, who carried baskets of stones, and 
weapons with which they supplied the warriors. The 
women, however, sometimes attacked the enemy in 
defence of their husbands, and were exceedingly fierce. 
The victorious party pillaged the villages of their 
enemies, cut down and destroyed all the bread-fruit 
and cocoanut trees, and often left the island almost 
uninhabited. The vanquished fled to the mountains, 
where they were pursued by their enemies and some- 
times overtaken and slain. Those who eluded pur- 
suit, took up their residence in caves and dens of the 
mountains, and sometimes became perfectly wild. 
One of these taehae, or wild men, was taken by some 
of the natives who went to the mountains in search 
of the bark of the tiari, which they use in dying cloth. 
The men who took him, declared, that had he not 
been enfeebled by illness, they should not have been 
able to catch, or retain him. Terror seemed to have 
absorbed every other feeling. It was in vain that he 
was assured that no injury was intended to be done 
to him. He appeared either not to understand, or 
not to regard any thing they said, but constantly ex- 
claimed, " Ye are murderers, ye are murderers," and 
occasionally cried, " Do not murder me, do not mur- 
der me." He was taken to the settlement, furnished 
with food, and clothing, and treated with kindness, 
but though he appeared somewhat calmed, he still 
manifested a most restless disposition, and for a long 
time uttered no other sounds than " Do not kill me." 
He was taken to the school, and the chapel, but 



78 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

appeared distressed by the noise, although pleased 
with the letters. He afterwards learned the first ele- 
ments of reading, bat improved the first opportunity 
to escape to the mountains. 

Another of these wild men, who had been taken 
some time before and was then comparatively tame, 
was seen by a missionary while on a visit to one of 
the settlements. His appearance is thus described. 
" He was above the middle size, large boned, but 
not fleshy. His features and countenance were 
strongly marked ; his complexion was not darker 
than those of many around, but his aspect was 
agitated and wild. His beard was unshaven, and his 
hair had remained uncut for many years. It ap- 
peared about a foot and a half in length, in some 
parts perhaps longer. He wore it parted in the mid- 
dle of his forehead, but hanging uncombed and 
dishevelled on the other parts of his head. On the 
outside it was lightly curled, and hung in loose ring- 
lets. The color was singular : at the roots, or close 
to his head, it was dark brown or black, six inches 
from his head it was of a tawny brown, while the 
extremities exhibited a light, and in some places 
bright yellow. Many attempts had been made to 
persuade him to have it cut, but to this he would 
never consent. His only clothing was a maro, or 
girdle, with sometimes a light piece of cloth over his 
shoulders. His nails, for the sake of convenience, 
he had cut. He said but little, and though he came 
and looked at us once or twice, he seemed averse to 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 79 

observation, and retired when I attempted to con- 
verse with him." * He had been driven to the moun- 
tains in time of war, and remained in solitude for 
years, but was at length discovered by some persons 
who were travelling in that region, secured, and 
brought down to the settlement, where, with great 
difficulty, he was induced to remain. 

From these accounts it appears, that those who 
were not slain in battle were often driven from 
society, and well nigh converted into brutes. Cap- 
tives taken in war were either slain on the spot, 
or sacrificed to the gods. On the day following 
the battle, the bodies of the slain, having suffered the 
greatest indignities, were offered to Oro y the god of 
war, as an acknowledgment of his assistance. 

Cannibalism was practised by the inhabitants of 
many of the South Sea Islands, and it was the cus- 
tom of some of them to feast on the bodies of those 
whom they had slain in battle. The Samoans, how- 
ever, were not cannibals, and regarded the practice 
with detestation. 

In connection with their wars, the natives were 
accustomed to observe many ceremonies, and to 
offer human sacrifices to Oro, whom they wished to 
preside over the army. The battles often continued 
several days. It sometimes happened that neither 
party was subdued. If, under these circumstances, 
one of them desired peace, a flag of truce was 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 236. 



80 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

sent with proposals of reconciliation. If the other 
party was favorable, an interview took place be- 
tween the leaders, attended by the priests and ora- 
tors. The party which had sent the proposals spoke 
first, and was replied to by the orator of the other 
party. " Each held in his hand a bunch of the sacred 
miro. When the terms were agreed upon, the wreath 
of peace was woven with two or three green boughs, 
furnished by each, as the bond of reconciliation and 
friendship. Two young dogs were then exchanged 
by the respective parties, and the apaa pia brought. 
This was sometimes a long strip of cloth, white on 
one side and red on the other. The cloth having 
been joined together by both parties, in token of their 
union, imprecations were invoked on those who 
should rend the apaa pia, or bond of peace. The 
apaa pia and the green boughs were then offered to 
the gods, and they were called upon to avenge the 
treachery of those who should rend the band, or break 
the wreath." * Divinations were also used, to know 
whether peace would be of long or short continu- 
ance. Feasting and games followed the ceremony, 
and religious rites were also performed. Peace was 
ratified, and the whole was concluded with a grand 
dance called the dance of peace. 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 245. 



CHAPTER, IV. 

GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION. 

Peculiarities of the Government at different Islands — Abdication of the 
Father on the birth of a Son — Regal mode of conveyance— Sa- 
credness of the King's person — Inauguration of the King — Admin- 
istration of justice — Punishment of theft — Indistinct notions of a 
Supreme Being — Ideas of Heaven and Hell — Religious systems of 
the Islanders— Description of their gods — Other objects of wor- 
ship — Maraes— Modes of worship— Prayers — Offerings— Human 
sacrifices — Peculiar form of Idolatry at the Samoas — Seasons of 
worship — Annual national festival — Superstitions — Oracles — Au- 
gury — Sorcery. 

Although there were many points of resemblance 
in the government of the different clusters of 
islands in the South Sea, there were also some 
peculiarities in each. In the Society Islands, and 
in some of the other groups, the government was 
hereditary and despotic. The chiefs in the island 
of Tongataboo were elected, and their power lim- 
ited. In the Marquesas and Navigators' islands, 
each tribe was governed by its own chief, and was 
independent of every other. In all the islands the 
government was interwoven with their system of 
idolatry. The god and the king were generally sup- 
6 



82 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

posed to share the authority over mankind. Next 
in rank to the king was the queen, who often gov- 
erned a whole island. Immediately on the birth of a 
son to the king, the infant was proclaimed sovereign, 
and the father became a subject. He, however, con- 
tinued to transact business, but paid the same hom- 
age to his son that he had before demanded for him- 
self. The king and queen, whenever they travelled 
by land, were always carried on men's shoulders, and 
accompanied by a number of l sacred men, or bear- 
ers/ who relieved each other of their burdens. The 
distinction between king and people was strongly 
marked. Every thing connected with the former, 
even the ground on which he trod, was considered 
sacred, and no person was allowed to touch either the 
king or queen, on pain of death. The inauguration 
of the king took place some years before he arrived 
at the age of twenty-one, and this festival, although 
celebrated in a magnificent manner, was marked 
with crimes of the deepest dye. 

Each district had its own chief, whose power in 
that district was supreme. They had no regular 
code of laws, nor any court of justice. The people 
avenged their own injuries, and the chiefs punished 
with death, or banishment, Theft, although common 
among them, w r as severely punished. One of the 
missionaries states, that in one of the Hervey Islands, 
a little boy about eight years of age was found steal- 
ing food. He was instantly seized by the man who 
detected him, a large stone was tied to his leg, and 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 83 

he was thrown into the sea. He sank to the bottom, 
and had not one of the native teachers plunged into 
the water and saved him, he would have perished. 

The islanders generally, and especially the Sa- 
moans, had a vague idea of a Supreme Being. Him 
they regarded as " the Creator of all things, and the 
Author of their mercies/' He was called Tangaroa, 
or Taaroa. It is said that the inhabitants o£ the 
Navigators' Islands were accustomed to acknowledge 
him at their feasts. One of the chiefs arose, and 
enumerating each article, exclaimed, " Thank you 
great Tangaroa for this ! " 

The islanders believed in a future state, but their 
ideas respecting it were vague and indefinite. They 
spoke of the spirit of a departed body as in a state of 
night. The spirit they imagined was carried by 
other spirits to the po, or state of night, and there 
eaten by the gods. 

The Tahitians believed that there are two places 
for departed spirits, one called sweet-scented Roo- 
hutu, the other foul-scented Roohutu. The former 
is described as a beautiful place, with a salubrious 
air, and abounding in the most beautiful plants and 
shrubs, which are in perpetual bloom, and emit the 
most fragrant odors. Here is food in abundance, 
and every indulgence. 

The Rarotongans " represented their paradise as 
a very long house, encircled with beautiful shrubs 
and flowers, which never lose their bloom or fra- 
grance, and whose inmates enjoy unwithering beauty 



84 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

and perpetual youth. These pass their days without 
weariness or alloy, in dancing, festivity, and merri- 
ment." Their hell consisted in " crawling around 
this house, observing the pleasures of its inmates, 
while racked with intense but vain desires of admit- 
tance and enjoyment," The name of the god of 
this Paradise was Tiki. The islanders seem not to 
have supposed that moral character was in any way 
connected with admission to Paradise, or banishment 
from it.* In order to secure the admission of a 
departed spirit to future joys, the corpse was dressed 
in the best attire the relatives could provide, the head 
was wreathed with flowers, and other decorations 
were added. A pig was then baked whole, and 
placed upon the body of the deceased, surrounded 
by a pile of vegetable food. After this, if the 
departed person was a son, the father would thus 
address the corpse: — "My son, when you were 
alive I treated you with kindness, and when you were 
taken ill, I did my best to restore you to health ; and 
now you are dead, there 5 s your momoe o, or property 
of admission. Go, my son, and with that gain an 
entrance into the palace of Tiki, and do not come 
again to this world, to disturb and alarm us." t The 
whole would then be buried ; and if they did not 

* A fundamental error of heathenism, characteristic alike of the 
refined nations of antiquity, whose Jupiter Olympus shook 
the earth, and of the rude idolaters of modern times, whose 
uncouth divinities excite a mingled feeling of pity and disgust. 

t Missionary Enterprises, p. 496. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 85 

receive, within a few days of the interment, any inti- 
mation to the contrary, the relatives believed that the 
pig and the other food had obtained for him the de- 
sired admittance. If, however, a cricket was heard 
on the premises, it was considered an ill omen, and 
they would immediately utter the most dismal howJ- 
ings, accompanied by such expressions as the follow- 
ing : " Oh, our brother ; his spirit has not entered 
the paradise ; he is suffering from hunger, he is shiv- 
ering with cold \ " Forthwith the grave would be 
opened, and the offering repeated. This was gener- 
ally successful. 

We have said that most of the natives had some 
faint notion of a Supreme Being, and that they be- 
lieved in a future state. But the indistinctness and 
incorrectness of their ideas of a Creator and the 
absence of every moral requirement for future happi- 
ness, prevented these fundamental truths of religion 
from exerting any salutary influence. We are not 
surprised, therefore, at the testimony of the mission- 
aries, that, like all other forms of superstition which 
have sprung from the depravity of the human heart, 
the religious systems of the South Sea Islanders were 
marked with absurdity, superstition, and vice. 

Idolatry prevailed at most of the islands.* The 

* Bougainville perceived that the inhabitants of Tahiti were 
idolaters. But his description of a couple of idols which he 
saw there gave umbrage to the English translator of his 
*• Voyage." Mr. Foster expresses his dissent in the following 
u philosophical " note. " The people of Otaheite, or as our 



86 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

inhabitants of several of them worshipped their de- 
parted ancestors, others, birds, and insects, while the 
greater part of them had gods the work of their own 
hands. 

The origin of all things, and the existence of 

author wrongly calls it, Taiti, are not idolaters according to the 
last published account, and therefore it is certain that M. De 
Bougainville took some ornamental figures for those of their 
divinities. Had this circumnavigator made a longer stay in 
this island, had he thoroughly studied the language of the 
country, and looked upon things with a more philosophical or 
less prejudiced eye, his account would have proved less subject 
to the mistakes it abounds with. The English, more used to 
philosophical inquiries, will give more faithful accounts in the 
work that is going to be published of the great discoveries 
made by the British nation in those seas." p. 221. Time, 
thorough investigation, and the u more faithful accounts " of 
the English themselves, have proved the superior accuracy of 
the Frenchman's ear in respect to the sound, and the correct- 
ness of his observation in relation to the fact. Dr. Lang, how- 
ever, (View of the Polynesian Nation, i. 13.) states, that 
although idols are worshipped in some of the South Sea 
Islands, the worship is not general. The Polynesians, he 
thinks, form many images rather for the sake of ornament than 
worship. That writer, as we have seen, uses the term South 
Sea Islands in a more extended sense than Mr. Ellis and some 
others. Among the whole number of islands included under 
his broader signification of this name, there may be a larger 
proportion in which the worship of idols is not practised. But 
it appears from the testimony of the missionaries (and in rela- 
tion to such a point it is hardly possible that they should be 
mistaken) that in those groups to which this volume relates, 
and in the Sandwich Islands, images were very generally not 
only found but worshipped. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 87 

some of their gods, they ascribed to a state of chaos, 
and on this account their deities were said to be born 
of night. The image of Tangaroa or Taaroa, who, 
as has been stated, was generally supposed to be the 
creator of the world, and the parent of gods and 
men, was nearly four feet high, and twelve or fifteen 
inches broad, carved out of a solid piece of white, 
durable wood. Tangaroa was the national god of 
Aitutaki, and the adjacent islands. He was supposed 
to hold a net, with which he caught the spirits of 
men as they flew from their bodies, and a spear, with 
which he killed them. Oro, one of their national 
idols, was the son of Taaroa. This was a log of 
wood, six feet in length, uncarved, but decorated 
with feathers. 

Another great deity was Terongo, called a hat-tan" 
gata, or man-eater. The priests of this idol were 
supposed to be inspired by the sharks. Another of 
their deities was Taau, the god of thunder. The 
natives supposed he produced the noise by the flap- 
ping of his wings when flying. Besides these, there 
were gods of the sea, gods of the air, the valleys, 
mountains, and precipices. There was also the god 
of husbandry, the god of carpenters, the god of 
ghosts, and the god of thieves. 

Their gods were nearly a hundred in number, and 
every family of rank had its tutelar idol. So great 
was the fear of the gods among these simple children 
of nature, that to avert their anger, they would not 
only devote to them every valuable article they pos- 



88 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

sessed, but murder their fellow beings and offer them 
to the god. The state of abject mental slavery in 
which they were held by these superstitious fears, 
will be more fully shown when we come to speak of 
the overthrow of idolatry in the islands. 

Their gods were deposited in the temples or 
maraes. The worship of the islanders consisted in 
prayers, offerings, and the sacrifice of victims. Their 
prayers were generally vain and useless repetitions, 
addressed to the god in a loud and unpleasant tone 
of voice. The following is a specimen of the least 
exceptionable of them. " Awake, Rooa — awake, 
Tane — awake, unnumbered progeny of Tane — awake, 
Tuu — awake, Tuaratai." In this way the gods, to 
the number of twenty, were " called upon by name, 
and directed to the birds, and to Roo, the god of 
morning, and the parent of clouds— to the formation 
and increase of clouds — to the blue clouds, the red 
cloud, the low hungry cloud, and the horned or 
pointed cloud. They were then directed to mark 
the progress of Roo, the property or offerings of 
Roo, the plaited cocoanut-leaf of Roo, the medium 
through which his influence or power was conveyed 
to his image, or through which he received the spirit 
of the offerings. All the gods were then invoked to 
enter their tapau or cocoanut leaves, and to open 
wide their mouths. Each one was addressed by 
name, and it was declared, * Here is the food and 
offering, in or from the land or sea.' The gods 
were then invoked to take off the sacredness or 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 89 

restriction, and hold it fast, probably that men might 
securely attend to their avocations. The god was 
then supposed to be awaked and they retired." 

Their offerings included " the fowls of the air, the 
fishes of the sea, the beasts of the field, and the fruits 
of the earth, together with their choicest manufac- 
tures." The fruits were generally dressed. The 
portion of fowls, pigs, or fish which was offered to 
the god was considered sacred, and dressed with 
sacred fire within the temple. The priest and other 
sacred persons partook of the remainder. The por- 
tions dedicated to the gods were laid on the fata or 
altar, which was of wood. Domestic altars, or those 
erected near the corpse of a departed friend, were 
small squares of wicker work. The altars in the 
temples were usually eight or ten feet high, and were 
ornamented with plantain leaves, and covered with 
sacred boughs. The animals when presented alive 
received the sacred mark, and were allowed to roam 
at liberty. When slain, great care was taken that a 
bone should not be broken, or the animal disfigured 
in any way. The natives did not, like some heathen 
nations, merely make a show of consecrating gifts to 
the gods, and then appropriate them to their own 
use. The atmosphere in the vicinity of the maraes 
was frequently rendered offensive by the action of the 
heat on the offerings of meat left on the altar. 

In some of the South Sea Islands, it is the practice 
of the inhabitants, in connection with the presenta- 
tion of offerings, to inflict injuries on themselves. 



90 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

In the Friendly Islands it is common to cut off one 
or two joints of the little finger. 

Besides animals and fruits, human victims were 
not unfrequently offered to the gods. These barba- 
rous rites commonly took place in time of war, at 
great national festivals, or the erection of temples, 
and during the illness of the king and chiefs. The 
victims were generally captives taken in war, or per- 
sons who had rendered themselves odious to the king. 
At the request of the priest, a stone was sent by the 
king to the chief of the district, where the person 
selected as a victim resided. If the stone was 
received, it was an indication that the requisition 
would be complied with. Certain districts were 
regarded as tabu or devoted. From these districts, 
and generally from families where one victim had 
been previously taken, another was demanded. When 
it was known that any ceremonies were near, at 
which human sacrifices would be offered, the mem- 
bers of the devoted families fled to the mountains or 
caves, and remained till the ceremonies were past. 
The victims, however, were generally unconscious of 
danger, till they were seized, or stunned by a blow. 
Their doom was then fixed, and their death certain. 

The account which has here been given does not, 
however, apply to the religious system of the natives 
of the Samoas, or Navigators' Islands. They had 
neither maraes, nor altars, and practised none of the 
barbarous rites that were observed at some of the 
other groups. The form of superstition most prevalent 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 91 

at the Samoas was the worship of the etu. This con- 
sisted of some bird, fish, or reptile, in which they 
supposed that a spirit resided. It was not uncommon 
to see an intelligent looking chief praying to a fly, an 
ant, or a lizard. By the inhabitants of the neighbor- 
ing islands, the Samoans were considered as an im- 
pious race, and a person who neglected the worship 
of the gods was often called " a godless Samoan." 
But although there was less that is revolting in the 
religious customs of the natives of this group, than 
in those of the other islands, they were nevertheless 
equally superstitious. 

The islanders generally had both stated and occa- 
sional seasons of worship. The latter were observed 
in times of national calamities, such as the desolation 
of war, or the illness of their rulers. At the close 
of war, they were accustomed to perform certain 
ceremonies, the object of which was to purify the 
land from the defilement occasioned by the incursions 
of an enemy. In connection with these ceremonies, 
prayers were offered to the gods, that they would 
cleanse the land from pollution. It was then con- 
sidered safe to remain on the soil ; but if the 
ceremony had been neglected, death would have been 
anticipated. The illness of the king or chiefs was 
supposed to be owing to the displeasure of the gods, 
on account of some offence committed either by them 
or the people. Prayers, if offered frequently, were 
supposed to avert anger, and prevent death. Costly 



92 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

offerings always accompanied their prayers to the 
god, and the value of the gift was in proportion to 
the rank of the chief. Whole fields of plantains, and 
a hundred pigs have often been presented to a god at 
once. If recovery followed these ceremonies, the 
gods were supposed to be pacified, but if death 
ensued, they were considered as inexorable, and 
were destroyed. 

Religious ceremonies were connected with almost 
every event of their lives. An ubu, or prayer, was 
offered before they ate their food, when they tilled 
their ground, planted their gardens, built their houses, 
launched their canoes, cast their nets, and commenced 
or concluded a journey. Except perhaps the pious 
inhabitants of Iceland, there are few Christians who 
ought not to feel reproved by the diligence of these 
heathen, in seeking the protection of their gods. 

Their " first fruits" w r ere always presented to the 
gods. At the close of the year they observed a 
national festival. This was considered as an annual 
acknowledgment to the gods. A sumptuous banquet 
was provided, after which each individual visited his 
family marae, to offer prayers for the spirits of de- 
parted friends. 

Witchcraft and sorcery were common among them. 
The singing noise which is sent forth by a beautiful 
kind of shell, when applied to the ear, they supposed 
to proceed from the demon it contained. These 
beings were invoked by the sorcerers, before they 
commenced their incantations. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 93 

The natives considered themselves as attended and 
governed by the gods. They were at all times dis- 
posed to seek their direction, and, in every event of 
importance, to submit to their decision. Each 
island had its own oracle, and no question of 
importance was decided, nor any enterprise of 
hazard or consequence undertaken, without consult- 
ing it. The god was supposed to enter the priest 
in a dream by night and intimate to him his will. As 
soon as the priest was thus inspired, or rather pos- 
sessed, he became convulsed, his features were dis- 
torted, and his countenance terrific. While he con- 
tinued in this state, he occasionally uttered shrill or 
indistinct cries, which were supposed to be the voice 
of the god. 

Divination, or augury, was practised in a variety 
of ways among the South Sea islanders. It was 
generally connected with their sacrifices, and by 
means of it the future was supposed to be revealed. 
Future events were also foretold from the situation 
of the stars. When any conspicuous planet, as Venus, 
appeared above the horizon, at sunset, several evenings 
in succession, it was considered as certain that two 
chiefs were planning each other's destruction. The 
formation of two opposing parties was indicated by 
the upright position of the horns of the new moon. 

Divination was used to discover the cause of sick- 
ness, or the fate of a canoe which had commenced a 
distant voyage. It was also used in detecting thieves. 
" When the parties who had been robbed, wished to 



94 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

use this method of discovering the thief, they sent 
for a priest, who on being informed of the circum- 
stances connected with the theft, offered prayers to 
his demon. He now directed a hole to be dug in the 
floor of the house, and filled with water; then, taking 
a young plantain in his hand, he stood over the hole, 
and offered his prayers to the god whom he invoked, 
and who, if propitious, was supposed to conduct the 
spirit of the thief to the house, and place it over the 
water. The image of the spirit, which they imagined 
resembled the person of the man, was, according to 
their account, reflected in the water, and being per- 
ceived by the priest, he named the individual, or the 
parties, who had committed the theft, stating that the 
god had shown him the image in the water." * 

Incantations were commenced with an imprecation 
by the priest or the injured person, and were usually 
denounced in the name of the gods of the interested 
party, or of the king. Any one wishing to practise 
sorcery against another, employed a taliutahu, who 
was supposed to have influence with the demons and 
to induce the til or spirit to enter the victim of his 
malice. In order to accomplish the end in view, 
however, something connected with the body of the 
object of vengeance must be obtained. Over this, 
incantations were performed, and prayers offered, until 
at length the demon entered the person who imme- 
diately became possessed. 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 290. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 95 

On a certain occasion, two native boys were sent 
by one of the missionaries from Eimeo to Tahiti for 
taro or arum roots. " The man under whose care 
it was growing was a sorcerer. According to the 
directions they had received, the boys went to the 
field, and procured the roots for which they had been 
sent. Before they had departed, the person who had 
charge of the field returned and was so enraged, that 
he pronounced the most dreadful imprecations upon 
one or both of them, threatening them with the piafo* 
The boys returned to Eimeo but apparently took no 
notice of the threatening. One of them was shortly 
afterward taken ill ; and the imprecation of the 
sorcerer being made known to his friends, it was 
immediately concluded that he was possessed by the 
evil spirit. Alarming symptoms rapidly increased, 
and some of the missionaries went to see him in this 
state. On entering the place where he lay, a most 
appalling spectacle was presented. The youth was 
lying on the ground, writhing in anguish, foaming at 
the mouth, his eyes apparently ready to start from his 
head, his countenance exhibiting every form of terrific 
distortion and pain, his limbs agitated with violent 
and involuntary convulsions. The friends of the boy 
were standing round, filled with horror at what they 



* "Piafo signifies a hook or barb; and is also indicative of the 
condition of those under the visitation of evil spirits, who were 
holding them in agony as severe, as if transfixed by a barbed 
spear or hook." 



96 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

considered the effects of the malignant demon; and 
the sufferer shortly afterwards expired in dreadful 
agonies." * 

In general, when any one was suffering from in- 
cantations, he or his friends employed another sorcerer 
to discover who had practised them. To this person a 
fee was given, and after he had succeeded in ascertain- 
ing who had produced the sufferings, more costly pres- 
ents were bestowed on him, in order to engage the aid 
of his demons, that the injury which had been inflicted 
might come on the author of it. If the demons thus 
employed were equal in power to those first resorted 
to, and if presents of still greater value were offered, 
they were supposed to be successful. 

It was not until idolatry was renounced that the 
belief in the power of the sorcerers was shaken. All 
ranks were liable to be affected by their arts, and the 
whole population were in constant fear of the demons. 
Whether the sufferings which often followed incan- 
tations were the effects of imagination or not, it is 
impossible for us to judge. It is the opinion of some 
that they were produced by administering poison with 
their food, and indeed some of the sorcerers who 
were subsequently converted to Christianity confessed 
that this had been their practice. Others, however, 
think they were completely under the influence of 
the evil spirit, and that their minds as well as bodies 
were affected by its influence. Since their conversion, 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 280. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 97 

many of the natives have declared it to be their 
opinion that they were actually under the influence 
of Satan, and led captive at his will. 

It is regarded by the natives as a singular fact, that 
no European has ever been affected with the sorceries 
practised upon him. The reason assigned for this 
fact is, that the Christians are under the keeping of 
a more powerful Being than any of the spirits which 
could be engaged against them, and therefore are 
secure. The native teachers have also been frequent- 
ly exposed to incantations, but have never experienced 
any injury. " They always defied the sorcerers and 
their demons, telling them that Jehovah would pro- 
tect them from their machinations." 



CHAPTER V. 

ORIGIN AND EARLY OPERATIONS OF THE LONDON 
MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

Formation of the Society—Sermon of Dr. Haweis — Embarkation of 
the first missionaries — Arrival at Tahiti — Kindness of the natives 
— Notice of a Roman Catholic mission — Opinion of Captain Cook 
in regard to missions — District of Matavai ceded to the missiona- 
ries — Return of the Duff to England — Second voyage of the Duff — 
Seizure of the ship and return of the missionaries to England. 

The formation of the London Missionary Society 
was one of the grandest enterprises of the age. It 
had for its object, not the conversion of the heathen 
to any particular form of church order or government, 
but the spread of the Gospel. Its high aim was to 
unite the friends of the Redeemer in diffusing divine 
light through the world. 

In the year 1794, the minds of British Christians 
were turned towards the subject of Missions by an 
Address to Evangelical Dissenters, published in the 
London Evangelical Magazine. This address excited 
considerable interest among those who were desirous 
of witnessing the extension of the kingdom of Christ, 
and led to frequent conversations on the subject. 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 99 

The first meeting with a view to the formation of a 
Society was held on the fourth of November. It con- 
sisted of " a small but glowing and harmonious circle 
of ministers of various connections and denomina- 
tions." From that time the friends of the heathen 
evidently increased, and in the month of January, 
1795, an " Address to Christian Ministers and all 
other Friends of Christianity, on the subject of Mis- 
sions to the Heathen," was drawn up and sent as a 
circular to various persons. In this address it was 
proposed that a meeting should be held in London 
the ensuing summer for the purpose of organizing a 
Missionary Society. 

On the 15th of January, a number of ministers con- 
vened in the city of London, and " appointed a com- 
mittee of correspondence to collect the sentiments 
of their brethren in the country relative to the great 
plan under contemplation." A circular letter address- 
ed to ministers was drawn up, acquainting them with 
the plan and object of the proposed society, and re- 
questing them to communicate it to their congrega- 
tions, and to send delegates to the general meeting. 
The time appointed for the Convention was the 
22d, 23d, and 24th days of September. On the eve- 
ning preceding the meeting, a consultation " was held 
by a numerous and highly respectable assembly of 
ministers and others friendly to the proposed institu- 
tion. Several interesting letters from ministers and 
private Christians approving of the formation of a 
society were read to the meeting, and an address de- 



100 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

livered by the Rev. Dr. Haweis of Aldwinkle. The 
exercises were concluded with prayer by the Rev. 
Rowland Hill, and the assembly broke up with a feel- 
ing of delight which, as has been justly remarked, 
" the highest gratification of sensuality, avarice, am- 
bition, or party zeal could never have inspired. 5 ' 
The following day the Rev. Dr. Haweis delivered a 
highly animating discourse from Mark xvi. Jo, 16, to 
a large congregation assembled at Spa-fields chapel. 
At the close of the public exercises, a large number 
of ministers and laymen formed themselves into a 
society, in the presence of a multitude of persons, who 
remained to witness this interesting part of the pro- 
ceedings. In the evening a sermon was preached by 
the Rev. G. Burder, and, on the three subsequent 
days, successive meetings were held, in different parts 
of the city, at which the cause of missions was plead- 
ed with solemnity and earnestness. The effect of 
these meetings both upon the ministers and people 
was most happy. " The unanimity and fervor of the 
assembly in entering upon this greatest of all schemes 
— the evangelizing of the world — created bursts of 
joy which nothing could express but tears. The 
Christian world seemed to awake, as from a dream, 
wondering that they could have been so long asleep, 
while the groans of a dying world were calling upon 
them for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Another con- 
sideration that rendered these seasons inexpressibly 
delightful was the visible union of Christians of all 
denominations; who, for the first time, forgetting 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 101 

their party prejudices, and partialities, assembled in 
the same place, sang the same hymns, united in the 
same prayers, and felt themselves one in Christ." * 

Soon after the formation of the Missionary Society, 
its members began to agitate the important question, 
« In what part of the world they should commence 
their work of mercy?" The Rev. Dr. Haweis, who 
was one of the founders of the Society, and among its 
most liberal supporters, was requested to prepare a 
" Memorial " upon the subject, which was delivered 
at Surrey Chapel. In the course of his address he 
says, " The field before us is immense ! O that we 
could enter at a thousand gates ! that every limb were 
a tongue, and every tongue a trumpet, to spread 
the joyful sound. Where so considerable a part of 
the habitable globe on every side calls for our efforts, 
and like the man of Macedonia cries, ' Come over 
and help us/ it is not a little difficult to decide at 
what part to begin." He then drew a comparison 
between the climates, the governments, the lan- 
guage, and the religions of heathen countries, and 
concluded that of all the " dark places of the earth" 
the South Sea Islands presented the fewest diffi- 
culties, and the fairest prospect of success. He 
proceeded to draw a most enchanting picture of the 
islands, their climate, soil, and productions. " The 
climate," said he, " is sufficiently known. I am afraid 
to speak what is recorded concerning it, lest some 

* History of Missions, i. 327—330. 



102 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

should think I was painting a fairy land, a new gar- 
den of the Hesperides. Suffice it therefore to say, 
what is universally admitted, that the cold of winter is 
never known ; the trees scarcely ever lose their leaves, 
and during the greater part of the year bear fruit. 
The heat, though it is a tropical country, is always 
alleviated by alternate breezes, whilst the natives sit 
under the shade of odoriferous groves, loaded with 
abundance of fruit. The sky is serene, the nights 
are beautiful, and the sea is ever offering inexhausti- 
ble stores of food, an easy and pleasing conveyance, 
and a prospect generally admired. 

" Diseases which ravage us are there unknown. We 
indeed have added fearfully to their number ; yet 
health, and longevity mark the inhabitants in general 
without the knowledge of medicines or physicians. 
If the frozen regions of the north, or the sultry humid 
soil of Africa, be compared with these islands, the dif- 
ference in respect of danger is immense, and a mis- 
sionary's life abundantly more likely to be preserved 
in the one than in the other. 

" Dependent on climate is the facility of finding pro- 
vision. How easily that can be obtained in these 
islands, yon need only read the concurrent testimony 
of all who have written on the subject ; and if they 
want our luxuries, the necessaries of life will not 
much engage a missionary's time or care. With the 
science he carries, and the arts he practises, there is 
little reason to doubt, that with a slight degree of 
attention, he will have enough and to spare. This 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 103 

circumstance is as advantageous for the work as for 
the missionaries themselves. The natives, not har- 
rassed by labor for their daily bread, nor worked as 
slaves under the lash of the whip, are always sure to 
have abundance of time for receiving instruction. 
We have not, as our brethren the Moravians, to follow 
them into the lonely wilds of a desert in their hunting 
expeditions, or over the fields of ice in winter, few at 
best, and widely scattered. Here every man sitting 
under his cocoa or bread-fruit tree, is at hand ; and 
the very sound of a hammer, a saw, or a smith's 
bellows, will hardly ever fail to attract an audience. 
Two hundred thousand inhabitants are reckoned on 
the small island of Otaheite alone ; all ranged round 
its beautiful shores, and accessible by a thousand 
canoes, with a facility which no road could ever 
afford. I need not say the f multitude of the isles will 
be glad thereof The amount of them hath never 
yet been ascertained. We have discovered many, 
but probably much greater numbers are still unknown, 
which spot the bosom of the Pacific Ocean on both 
sides of the line, from New South Wales to the Coast 
of Peru. But I am only giving a sketch, not a 
history." * 

The language, Dr. Haweis represented as not diffi- 
cult to be acquired, and the obstacles which they 
would meet with few. " We shall here," said he, 
" have no false Christianity to oppose its life and 

* Brown's History of Missions, ii. 257, 258. 



104 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

spirit ; none of those disputes which, even among 
real Christians, tend greatly to obstruct the work of 
God. We have a field wholly uncultivated, but the 
soil is fit for seed, and the climate genial ; and coming 
first, we have every thing in our favor, and may, with- 
out dispute or opposition, inculcate the true knowl- 
edge of God our Saviour. From the king on the 
throne, to the infant of a year old, I should not be 
surprised to see our schools thronged, and our worship 
attended. We know that He only who made the 
heart can renew it. We are sure that the residue of 
the Spirit is with Him, and He hath promised to 
be ' with us alway, even unto the end of the world. 5 
With such divine encouragement, what may we not 
hope for?"* 

It is not strange that with such a picture before 
them the Directors of the Missionary Society should 
have resolved to commence their mission among the 
distant islands of the Southern Ocean. Accordingly 
they began to raise subscriptions, to examine and 
select missionaries, and to make preparations for the 
voyage. 

The description which had been given by Dr. 
Haweis, though not intentionally exaggerated, was 
nevertheless in some respects too highly colored. 
The recently published accounts respecting the 
newly discovered regions of the South Seas had pro- 
duced a strong feeling of wonder and delight, and 

* Brown's History of Missions, ii. 260. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 105 

excited considerable interest in behalf of the in- 
habitants of those isolated regions. The countess 
of Huntingdon was deeply affected by the repre- 
sentations that were made respecting them, and 
became exceedingly anxious that the blessings of the 
Gospel should be conveyed to them. So strong was 
her desire on this subject, that it was her dying 
charge to her chaplain, Dr. Haweis, that he should 
attempt to accomplish it. To this circumstance, no 
doubt, must be attributed, in part, the deep interest 
which he took in the cause, and the ardor with 
which he engaged in it. No small degree of exertion 
was necessary, to surmount the obstacles which pre- 
sented themselves to the Missionary Society, before 
their arrangements could be completed. So greatly, 
indeed, did those obstacles increase, that had it not 
been for the solicitations of the Rev. Matthew Wilks 
and the Rev. Dr. Haweis, the mission would have 
been abandoned. 

At length, however, a ship was purchased, and in 
August, 1796, twenty-nine missionaries, several of 
whom had wives and children, embarked at London 
on board the Duff. The vessel was commanded by 
Captain James Wilson, who had retired several years 
previous from the East India service, but who now 
kindly offered to conduct the adventurous voyage. 
At Portsmouth they were detained some time waiting 
for a convoy, but on the 23d of September they 
took their final leave of England. Their voyage 
was a safe one, and on the fourth of March, 1797, 



106 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

after a passage of between five and six months, they 
beheld at a distance the island of Tahiti. On their 
arrival, seventy-four canoes, each carrying about 
twenty natives, put off from the shore, and rowed 
rapidly towards them. About one hundred of the 
natives came on board, and began to dance and caper 
about the deck in the most frantic manner. When 
their astonishment and delight had in some measure 
subsided, many of them voluntarily left the vessel, 
and others were sent away by a venerable old man 
called Manne Manne. It afterwards appeared that 
he was a person of some importance, as being nearly 
related to the royal family, and also the chief priest 
of Tahiti and Eimeo. He was extremely anxious to 
obtain the Captain for his tayo, or friend, and was 
gratified by being admitted to his tayoship. " This 
in the South Sea Islands is a sort of sacred tempo- 
rary friendship, commenced and ratified by an ex- 
change of names between the parties. The tayo 
furnishes his visiter with provisions during his visit, 
and expects, in return, some trifling present of beads, 
nails, or other similar articles, which in general, are 
considered as a sufficient remuneration for all his 
attentions."* 

The Duff soon anchored in Matavai Bay. The 
same day the captain and missionaries were invited 
by Manne Manne to go on shore, to look at a house, 
said to have been built by Pomare, the king's father, 

* History of Missions, i. 344. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 107 

for Captain Bligh, who, when he left the island, inti- 
mated the design of returning and settling there. 
The house was situated on Point Venus, so called 
from its being the spot on which Captain Cook 
erected his tents, and fixed his instruments for ob- 
serving the transit of Venus. It was a spacious, 
oblong building, one hundred and eight feet long, 
and forty-eight wide. This house was presented to 
the strangers by the king and chiefs, and in it those 
of the missionaries who concluded to remain in Ta- 
hiti soon after took up their residence. 

The names of these missionaries were, Messrs. 
Jefferson, Eyre, Lewis, Cover, Gilham, Broomhall, 
Henry, Clode, Bicknell, Hodges, Nott, Hassell, 
Cock, Main, Oakes, Smith, James and William 
Puckey. 

And here, perhaps, it ought to be mentioned that 
these were not the first missionaries who had been 
sent to christianize the inhabitants of the South Sea 
Islands. In 1772, two ships were sent by the Viceroy 
of Peru to survey the islands of the Pacific. They 
visited Tahiti, and conveyed to Peru two natives who 
were baptized there, and sent back in 1774, with two 
Roman Catholic missionaries. Before the ships left 
the islands, the Spanish commander called a meeting 
of the chiefs, who had taken the missionaries under 
their protection, described the grandeur of his sov- 
ereign, and informed them of his right to all the 
islands. The natives manifested much complaisance, 
and by acclamation acknowledged the king of Spain, 



108 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

as king of Tahiti, and all the islands. Soon after, 
the ships returned to Peru taking two other natives 
with them. The missionaries seem to have had but 
little intercourse with the people, and after a resi- 
dence of about ten months on the island, the ships 
in which they had arrived visited the island again, 
and they embarked for Lima. When Captain Cook 
visited Tahiti in 1777, he saw the house in which 
these missionaries had lived. In front of it stood a 
wooden cross, on which was inscribed, " Christus 
vincit et Carolus III. imperat. 1774," * and near it 
was the grave of the commander of one of the ships, 
who had died on the island. 

Whatever might have been the object of the Span- 
ish missionaries in settling at Tahiti, it is certain 
that they effected but little. With reference to their 
departure, and the prospect of any future European 
establishment in the islands, Captain Cook ob- 
serves, " It is very unlikely that any measure of this 
kind should ever be seriously thought of, as it can 
neither serve the purpose of public ambition, nor 
private avarice ; and without such inducements, I 
may pronounce that it will never be undertaken." f 
This great navigator doubtless judged correctly of 
the motives which influence the men of this world. 
They are, for the most part, wiser in their generation 
than to engage in enterprises which can neither min- 

* Christ conquers and Charles HI. rules. 
f Cook's Third Voyage, ii. 77. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 109 

ister to their pleasures, increase their wealth, nor 
extend their power. But whatever knowledge of 
men his opinion on this point may have evinced, he 
left entirely out of the account the influence of the 
Gospel, in converting the selfishness of human nature 
into benevolence. He had not been a diligent stu- 
dent of the word of God, or he would have better 
understood the spirit and the power of Christianity. 
He had himself with enthusiastic ardor twice circum- 
navigated the globe to advance the interests of 
science, and yet he thought there was not benevo- 
lence enough in Christendom to send a few mission- 
aries to these poor heathen from whom no temporal 
advantages were to be expected. Had he lived 
fifteen years longer, the spirit of missions, which 
then burst forth in splendor, would have taught him 
how widely he had erred from the truth. It is an 
interesting fact, that the very first English Mission 
was located on the island which he had thus pro- 
nounced beyond the reach of Christian philanthrophy. 
A few days after the arrival of the English mis- 
sionaries, Captain Wilson, through the medium of a 
Swede who acted as interpreter, informed Otu, the 
king, of the object and design of the voyage. The 
courteous chief listened attentively to what was said, 
and told the Captain in reply that he might take as 
much land for the use of the Mission as he pleased. 
Soon after this the whole district of Matavai in which 
their house was situated was formally ceded to Cap- 
tain Wilson and the missionaries by the high priest 



HO SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Marine Manne. To those unacquainted with the 
circumstances, this may seem an instance of almost 
unparalleled generosity ; but when we are informed 
that presents of this kind were not uncommon among 
the islanders as a compliment, or matter of courtesy 
to a visiter, and when we farther learn, that the mis- 
sionaries were not expected to appropriate the land 
to their own use to the exclusion of the original pro- 
prietors, our wonder begins to abate. The natives 
had doubtless formed a high estimate of the advan- 
tages that would result from the residence of foreign- 
ers among them, and were so desirous to afford every 
facility for the accomplishment of this object, and to 
secure the confidence of the missionaries, that they 
readily agreed to cede to them the district. That 
such were the views of the natives is evident from a 
letter from the missionaries to the Society in Lon- 
don. They remark, " The inhabitants do not con- 
sider the district, nor any part of it, as belonging to 
us, except the small sandy spot we occupy with our 
dwellings and gardens ; and even as to that there are 
persons who claim the ground as theirs." That the 
king and chiefs were influenced by motives of worldly 
policy, in desiring the missionaries to remain among 
them, is also evident from a speech once made by 
Manne Manne, who said that they " gave the people 
plenty of the parau, or word, talk, and prayer, but 
very few knives, axes, or scissors, and but little 
cloth." This leads us to conclude, that the natives 
had not at this time any desire to receive religious 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. HI 

instruction, but that a wish to possess such property 
as the English could furnish them with, and to receive 
their assistance in war, were" the motives by which 
they were actuated in their treatment of the mission- 
aries. The king and chiefs, however, manifested so 
peaceable and friendly a disposition towards the 
strangers, that Captain Wilson was encouraged to 
hope for the most favorable results from fc their resi- 
dence on the island. 

The Duff now proceeded on her way to the 
Friendly Islands, where Captain Wilson landed ten 
missionaries. He then visited the Marquesian Islands, 
and left one missionary there, after which he returned 
again to Tahiti. He found all the missionaries in 
good health, and learned with pleasure from them 
that the natives continued to treat them as friends, 
and that they had furnished them with abundant sup- 
plies of food. Having made the tour of the island, 
Captain Wilson prepared to return to England, and 
on the 4th of August, 1797, sailed from Matavai, 
taking with him one of the missionaries, who ex- 
pressed a desire to return. On his homeward voyage, 
Captain Wilson touched at Canton, where he received 
a cargo with which he returned to England, and after 
an absence of nearly two years reached the Thames 
in safety. The return of the Duff had been looked 
for in England with solicitude by the friends of the 
missionaries, and of the enterprise, and soon after its 
arrival, it was resolved by the Directors of the So- 
ciety to observe a day of public thanksgiving for the 



112 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

success that had attended the voyage. The day set 
apart for this purpose was the 6th of August, which 
was the first Monday of the month, and the day on 
which the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions 
has long been held in England as well as in America. 
On that day, public services were held at one of the 
chapels, and a sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. 
Haweis, who expressed his feelings on the occasion 
in the most eloquent manner. He first alluded to the 
swift passage of the Duff on her outward voyage. 
" Who ever heard/' said he, " in the most prosperous 
voyage of the ablest navigators, of 183° of longi- 
tude passed in so short space of time ? — moving at 
the rate of 220 or 230 miles a day, and so steadily 
before the wind as seldom even to interrupt the daily 
exercises of prayer, and praise, of study and repose!" 
He next spoke of the safety of the conveyance. " Not 
a mast sprung, not a yard lost, not a sail split, not an 
anchor left behind ! To traverse more than twice 
the circumference of the globe, especially amidst the 
lurking shoals, the hidden rocks and the low islands 
of the Southern Ocean, must, it is well known, be 
full of danger. They felt it, and were sometimes at 
their wit's end, but took the wings of faith, and fled 
in prayer to the God of our mercies." The health of 
the missionaries and ship's company was next alluded 
to. " Of about sixty persons, not one has been lost. 
Not only a hair of their head has not perished, but 
those who have returned are fat, and well-looking, 
and almost every man and woman is reported in bet- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 113 

ter health than when the ship left the shores of our 
native country. Few vessels have ever been so long 
without touching for refreshment, or performed so 
vast a run as 13,800 miles without the sight of land. 
But except the common well-known effect of the sea, 
or the indisposition of an individual, no infectious 
disorder appeared, no dangerous accident or broken 
bone. All the way they had plenty of provisions, 
their water sweet, abundant and never-failing, and 
not a creature wanting any manner of thing that was 
good."* 

Dr. Haweis then spoke of the reception of the mis- 
sionaries by the natives, of the kindness manifested 
towards them, and of their efforts to do good. Such 
was the effect produced on the minds of those who 
heard this glowing account of the first missionary 
enterprise in the South Seas, that the very next day 
the Missionary Society passed a resolution to undertake 
another voyage to the Pacific Ocean, for the purpose of 
furnishing with supplies those who had already settled 
there, and of assisting them in their labors ; with the 
further design also of planting the Gospel in other 
islands where it should appear most eligible. In a little 
more than three months after this resolution was 
formed, the preparations for the voyage were com- 
pleted, and the ship was ready to sail. In the latter 
part of December, 1798, the Duff sailed from Eng- 
land, under the command of Captain Thomas Rob- 

* History of Missions, i. 237. 

8 



114 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

son, on her second voyage to the South Sea Islands, 
with a reinforcement of twenty-nine missionaries. 
Ten of them were married, five were ordained minis- 
ters, two were acquainted with medicine and surgery, 
and most of the others were botanists, agricultur- 
ists, and artisans. The voyage thus auspiciously 
commenced was speedily terminated. On the 13th 
of February, 1799, a little less than two months from 
the time of leaving England, the Duff and all the 
missionaries on board were captured off Cape Frio by 
the Buonaparte, a French privateer. They were 
taken to Monte Video, where they remained several 
weeks. The Captain of the privateer appears to 
have been a kind-hearted man, and expressed great 
sympathy for the missionaries, saying, that if he 
had known who they were and the cause in which 
they were engaged, he would rather have given five 
hundred pounds out of his own pocket than to have 
met with them. By his kindness the missionaries 
were at length furnished with a passage to Rio 
Janeiro. On their way to that port tney were again 
taken captive by a Portuguese frigate bound to Lis- 
bon. During this voyage, the missionaries suffered 
not only from want of proper accommodations and 
food, but from the inhuman conduct of the Captain 
of the frigate. On their arrival at Lisbon, September 
22d, they were set at liberty, and, with the excep- 
tion of one of their number who had died, returned 
to England. 



CHAPTER VI. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE GEORGIAN 
ISLANDS. 

Departure of the Duff— The Mechanic Arts — Astonishment of the 
Natives at seeing Iron worked— Difficulty of acquiring the Lan- 
guage — Efforts to benefit the People — Their pilfering habits — 
Arrival of a Ship — Subsequent disasters — Departure of the Mis- 
sionaries — Commencement of hostilities — Peace restored — Death 
of Mr. Lewis — First Chapel in the South Sea Islands — A back- 
sliding Missionary — Mission reinforced — The Idol Oro seized — 
Death of Pomare — Native School — First Spelling-book — Rebel- 
lion in Matavai — Departure of the Missionaries — Abandonment 
of the Mission. 

It has been stated in the preceding chapter that 
Captain Wilson, having made arrangements for the 
permanent location of the mission at Tahiti, sailed 
from that island on his return to England, on the 
4th of August, 1797. As the ship moved out of the 
Bay, the exiled missionaries watched her progress 
from the shore with feelings of the deepest interest. 
And when at length she vanished from their sight, 
they felt that they were cut off from all intercourse 
with friends, and that they must now depend alone 
on divine assistance and direction. Left among 



116 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

savages with whom they could hold no fellowship, 
and shut out from all Christian society, it would not 
have been surprising, if they had sometimes thought 
of their native country with feelings of regret at 
having quitted its peaceful shores for a heathen land. 
But we do not find them thus regretting their having 
engaged in a missionary life. Their thoughts seem 
now to have been wholly turned towards those by 
w 7 hom they were surrounded, and their efforts to 
benefit them corresponded with their desires. 

The departure of the Duff did not occasion any 
diminution in the attention of the natives to the 
missionaries. The king and chiefs continued to 
manifest friendly feelings, and supplied them liberally 
with such things as the island afforded. The house, 
which had been presented to them on their arrival at 
the island, they had enclosed with a thick railing of 
bamboo canes, to prevent the natives from crowding 
upon them. They then divided it into different apart- 
ments, and as soon as they were comfortably settled 
in their new habitation, they began to labor for the 
improvement of the people. 

Several of the missionaries had been selected on 
account of their acquaintance with the most useful 
of the mechanic arts, and feeling that there was an 
intimate connection between Christianity and civ- 
ilization, they soon endeavored to introduce among 
the people some knowledge of those arts. The 
surprise of the natives was great on seeing the 
carpenters' tools, and the readiness with which they 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 117 

were used, as well as at beholding the various articles 
which the ingenuity of the foreigners devised. The 
construction of a canoe twenty feet long was the cause 
of much gratification, but when the blacksmith's 
shop was erected, and the forge and anvil first em- 
ployed, they were filled with astonishment. When 
the heated iron was hammered on the anvil, and the 
sparks flew among them, they fancied it was spitting 
at them, and were frightened. The hissing of the 
hot iron in water was no less wonderful, and the 
facility with which a bar of iron was converted into 
hatchets, adzes, and fish-hooks, excited their admira- 
tion. While the blacksmith was employed, one day, 
in making some valuable articles, Pomare, the father 
of the king, entered the shop. After gazing a few 
minutes at the work, he was so delighted with what 
he saw that he caught the smith in his arms, though 
covered with dirt, and saluted him most cordially 
by rubbing noses. 

The comparative value which the natives placed 
on gold and iron, will be seen from an incident that 
occurred some time after the arrival of the mission- 
aries. A ship's cook had lost his axe, and the captain 
gave him ten guineas to try to purchase one from 
the natives, supposing from the intercourse they had 
already had with Europeans that they would be able 
to form some estimate of the value of a guinea, and 
the number of articles that they could procure with 
it from any other ship that might visit the island. 
The cook kept the guineas a week, but could find 



118 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

no individual who would part with an axe, or even a 
hatchet, in exchange for them. 

While some of the missionaries were employed in 
making the natives acquainted with the arts, others 
were diligently exploring the adjacent country, and 
planting the seeds which they had brought from 
Europe. They all began to apply themselves dili- 
gently to the acquisition of the language, which 
proved to be a most laborious undertaking. It was 
entirely oral, and they soon found that, as might 
have been expected, all Europeans, who had visited 
the island and given written specimens of the lan- 
guage, had mistaken the spelling and pronunciation. 
Besides these written specimens, the missionaries had 
in their possession a small vocabulary, compiled by 
one of the officers of the mutineers in the ship 
Bounty, who had resided some months in Tahiti. 
This they had carefully studied, and by its aid they 
had previous to landing arranged a number of sen- 
tences according to the English idiom, which they 
supposed would be serviceable; but they soon found 
it would be necessary to discontinue the use of them. 

A part of each day was devoted by several of the 
missionaries to the study of the language, and once 
a week they all met together for conversation and 
mutual assistance. The Tahitians were very loqua- 
cious, and desirous to aid the missionaries in their 
efforts to learn their language. Various ways were de- 
vised for ascertaining the meaning of words and sen- 
tences, but still the progress of the learners was so 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 119 

slow, that they sometimes feared they should never 
accomplish their object. Already they had made some 
efforts to instruct the people in the knowledge of reli- 
gious things, but owing to the difficulty of communi- 
cating with them, it was long before they could hold 
a continued conversation so as to be understood. 

Soon after their arrival, the missionaries com- 
municated to the king and chiefs their object in 
coming to reside among them. They spoke to them 
of God, and the way to happiness in a future state, 
and closed their address by urging them to dis- 
continue the offering of human sacrifices, and the 
destruction of their infants. The people listened 
to them with great attention, appeared pleased with 
what they heard, and said it was all " very good." 
Some of them also promised that no more children 
should be murdered, but they were so much under 
the influence of custom, that, with one or two ex- 
ceptions, the efforts of the missionaries were un- 
availing. 

The chiefs continued to befriend the missionaries, 
but the people began to manifest a propensity to 
theft, and were constantly committing depredations 
on the little property of the Mission. This obliged 
the missionaries to guard it very carefully, but, not- 
withstanding the measures of security which they 
adopted, several valuable articles were stolen from 
them. It was soon evident that the islanders were 
in the lowest state of degradation and wretchedness. 
This furnished an incentive to energetic perseverance 



120 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

in the acquisition of the language, that by means of 
instruction in the principles of Christianity, their 
moral character might be elevated, and their circum- 
stances improved. 

In March, 1798, the ship Nautilus, commanded by 
Captain Bishop, anchored in Matavai Bay, for the 
purpose of making repairs, and obtaining supplies. 
After remaining a few days at the island, the vessel 
proceeded on her voyage, leaving at Tahiti five 
Sandwich Islanders, who had made their escape from 
the ship, and secreted themselves on shore. A fort- 
night after the departure of the Nautilus, she was 
driven back by a gale of wind, and being unfitted 
for her voyage, the captain was desirous of increasing 
his supplies that she might proceed to Port Jackson. 
During the night succeeding their arrival at the 
island, two of the sailors absconded with the ship's 
boat. The next morning the captain and supercargo 
addressed a letter to the missionaries, requesting 
their aid in recovering the men. They agreed to 
use their influence with the king and chiefs to induce 
them to send the seamen on board, and to accomplish 
this object four of them immediately set out for the 
district of Pare, where the king resided. They had 
sent for Pomare, and expected to meet him at the 
house of the young king, but as he did not arrive, 
and as the king appeared sullen and taciturn, the 
missionaries departed to wait on Pomare at his own 
dwelling. On approaching the bank of a river, which 
it was necessary to ford, they were surrounded by 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. ]21 

about thirty of the natives, who suddenly seized and 
stripped them. An attempt was then made to drown 
them, and they were threatened in other ways with 
a violent death. Some of the natives, when they 
saw their distress, pitied them and conducted them 
to Pomare, who received them with the greatest kind- 
ness, expressed sympathy for them, and furnished 
them with native apparel, and refreshment. Pomare, 
and his queen Idia, then accompanied the mission- 
aries to Otu, where Pomare questioned his son as to 
the treatment the missionaries had received. Otu 
said but little in reply, but there was reason to believe 
that the assault had been made by his direction, or at 
least with his knowledge. The probable cause of the 
young king's aversion to the missionaries was, that, 
by furnishing the vessel with supplies, they had pre- 
vented him from obtaining powder and muskets, 
which were in great demand, and in order to 
be revenged on them for this act of friendship to 
those on board, he had allowed some of his men 
to follow and plunder them. The missionaries did 
not disclose the object of their visit, but Pomare 
insisted on having the deserters delivered up. Through 
the instrumentality of Pomare and Idia, several articles 
of dress which had been taken from the missiona- 
ries were restored, and Pomare furnished them with 
a double canoe in which they were safely conveyed 
to their own dwelling. The next day, Manne Manne 
the high priest came to Matavai, with a message 
from Pomare to the four missionaries who had been 



122 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

plundered, bringing with him a chicken as an atone- 
ment, and a young plantain tree as a peace-offering. 

In consequence of this painful occurrence, eleven 
of the missionaries, conceiving their lives to be in 
imminent danger, judged a removal from the island 
to be necessary ; and as the captain of the Nautilus 
offered a passage to any who were desirous of going 
to Port Jackson, they prepared for their departure. 
On hearing of their intention to remove, many of the 
natives expressed regret, and Pomare, who had always 
treated them with the greatest kindness, now mani- 
fested unusual sorrow, and used every effort to per- 
suade them to stay. He went through every room in 
the house, and every berth on board, and addressed 
each individual by name with earnest entreaties to 
remain, and assurances of protection. His satisfaction 
was evident when he perceived that Mr. and Mrs. 
Eyre, and five single missionaries, resolved to con- 
tinue in Tahiti. The decision of those who left the 
island may appear premature, but it is not easy to 
form a correct estimate of the dangers to which they 
were exposed. This may be illustrated by a fact 
stated by Mr. Ellis. " Otu, called Pomare since his 
father's death, has often told Mr. Nott that after the 
departure of the Duff, frequently when he has been 
carried on men's shoulders round the residence of the 
missionaries, Peter, the Swede, who has been with 
him, has said, when the missionaries have been 
kneeling down in prayer at their family worship, 
' See, they are all down on their knees, quite defence- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 123 

less ; how easily your people might rush upon them, 
and kill them all ! and then their property would be 
yours. 5 " * 

The departure of so many of the brethren was a 
severe blow to the mission. It crippled its strength, 
and covered its future prospects with darkness. It is 
worthy of remark, however, that the calamity did not 
arise from any dispute between the missionaries and 
the natives, in respect to idolatry, but from the 
benevolent wish of the former, to assist the crew of a 
vessel driven to the island in distress. 

The seven missionaries who remained in Tahiti, 
although much affected by the loss they had expe- 
rienced, felt no disposition to relax their endeavors 
for the benefit of the people ; but, committing them- 
selves to the watchful providence of God, resolved to 
continue their work, in hopes of seeing at some future 
day, the result of their labors. They now deemed it 
expedient to give up to Pomare their public stores, 
and all the property they possessed, together with the 
blacksmith's shop, and the tools. They also offered 
him their private property, but this he refused to 
receive. 

Notwithstanding their precaution, the missionaries 
were frequently alarmed by intelligence that the mis- 
sion-house was marked out for destruction, and they 
were several times plundered of valuable articles. 
Hostilities also commenced in the district of Pare, in 

* Polynesian Researches, i. 29. 



124 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

consequence of the execution, by order of Pomare, of 
two of the men who had so cruelly treated the mis- 
sionaries. The inhabitants rose in arms to revenge 
their death ; and when peace was offered them, they 
rejected it. Pomare therefore attacked them with a 
numerous force, drove them to the mountains, killed 
fourteen of their number, and burnt forty or fifty 
houses. Shortly after this, a circumstance occurred, 
which, while it exhibits the impatience of the natives 
under afflictions, furnishes a specimen of the difficul- 
ties which the missionaries had to contend with, 
arising from the ignorance and the prejudices of those 
for whom they were laboring. The explosion of a 
considerable quantity of gunpowder, at a house in 
Pare, was attended with serious consequences to 
several of the natives ; two of whom died. As soon 
as Pomare heard of the accident, he desired Mr. 
Broomhall to visit the house in which the accident 
had occurred, and try to relieve the sufferers. The 
chief was dreadfully burned with the powder, and 
appeared to suffer exceedingly. Mr. Broomhall em- 
ployed such applications as he thought most likely to 
relieve him. Both the chief and his wife attributed 
his pains to the remedies employed, rather than to 
the explosion, and imagined that the god of the 
foreigners had infused a poison into the application. 
The jealousy of the chief was aroused, and the wrath 
of the king, who was present, was so great that 
Mr. Broomhall and his companions, believing that 
their lives were in danger, immediately retired. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 125 

Native remedies were now applied, but they were 
unavailing, and after languishing for some time in 
great agony the chief expired. 

It has been already intimated that the young king 
Otu, and his father Pomare, were not on friendly 
terms. Manne Manne, the chief priest, taking sides 
with Otu, formed a league with him to deprive Po- 
mare of all authority in Tahiti. They made war 
upon the district of Matavai, put the inhabitants to 
flight, and took possession of the land. The triumph 
of the old priest, however, was short. Pomare gave 
private directions to Idia to procure his assassination. 
At the earnest solicitation of his mother, Otu, though 
in the closest alliance with Manne Manne, consented 
to his death. This event appeared to unite in one 
interest Otu and his father. The inhabitants of 
Matavia left their places of retreat, and having pre- 
sented a peace-offering, re-occupied their land. The 
missionaries resumed their attempts to instruct the 
natives, but continued to meet with much to dis- 
courage them, not only in the acquisition of the 
language, but from the insensibility of the natives. 

In November, 1799, the missionaries were called 
to mourn over the death of Mr. Lewis, one of their 
number. For some months previous to this event, 
his conduct had been such as to excite the fears of 
his brethren, and lead them to feel the utmost solici- 
tude respecting him. Soon after the departure of the 
Nautilus, he expressed his intention of uniting in 
marriage with a native female, but as the missionaries 



126 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

considered her as an idolatress, they endeavored to 
dissuade him from it. Mr. Lewis, however, persevered 
in his determination, on account of which the con- 
nection that had subsisted between him and the other 
missionaries w r as dissolved. He removed from the 
mission-house to another part of the district, but was 
still constant in attendance on public worship, and 
industrious in the cultivation of his garden. As 
soon as the report of his death reached the mission- 
aries, they hastened to his house, where they found 
his body. The face was considerably bruised, and 
on one side there was a wound apparently inflicted 
with some sharp instrument. The information ob- 
tained with regard to his death was unsatisfactory, 
and the accounts contradictory, but from several 
expressions that were used, as well as from the 
appearance of the body, there was reason to believe 
that he had been murdered, and this was afterwards 
proved to be true. Soon after this event the number 
of the small band of missionaries was again reduced, 
by the departure of Mr, Harris to New South Wales ; 
but his place was supplied, in the January following, 
by the return of Mr. and Mrs. Henry from Port Jack- 
son. Of the missionaries that left Tahiti, Mr. Henry 
was the only one who resumed his labors in that 
island. 

Until the year 1S00, the public worship of God 
was performed in one of the apartments of the mis- 
sion-house, but as it then seemed desirable to erect a 
building for this object, to which the natives might 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 127 

have access for the purpose of religious instruction, a 
spot was selected, and on the 5th of March, the mis- 
sionaries, with the assistance of several of the natives, 
commenced the erection of a chapel. The materials 
were mostly furnished by the chiefs, and when it was 
nearly completed, Pomare sent a fish as an offering 
to Jesus Christ, requesting that it might be hung up 
in the new chapel. This was the first building 
erected in the South Sea Islands for the worship 
of the true God. At the time of its completion 
the missionaries indulged the hope of seeing it re- 
gularly filled with worshippers; but they were obliged, 
early in the year 1802, to pull it down in order to 
prevent its affording shelter to their enemies, or 
being set on fire. 

In the same year (1800) the ship Porpoise arrived 
in Matavai Bay from New South Wales, bringing a 
letter for Pomare, accompanied with a present from 
the governor of that colony. In his letter, governor 
King remarks, that he could " not too strongly recom- 
mend to his kind protection the society of mission- 
aries whom he had taken under his care/' and that 
" such protection could not fail to excite the grati- 
tude of the missionaries, and the friendship of King 
George." 

The missionaries continued to labor among the 
people, but without any apparent success. Their 
situation was in many respects improved, but their 
property was still exposed to the thefts of the 
natives, and their feelings constantly tried by the 



128 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

apathy of the degraded beings for whose benefit they 
were making such sacrifices. In a letter written 
about this time to the Directors of the Society in 
London, they state that, " although they had not 
acquired a sufficient knowledge of the language to 
enable them publicly to preach the Gospel, they had 
observed, whenever they had conversed with the 
natives, that while they could perceive the difference 
between Christianity and Paganism, their attachment 
to the latter was too strong to be removed by any 
other influence than that of the Spirit of the Most 
High." 

In the month of June, 1800, the missionaries were 
visited with a new and unexpected affliction. Mr. 
Broomhall, who had for some time evinced much 
coldness and indifference in respect to religious 
things, at length avowed that his sentiments had 
become entirely changed, and that he no longer 
believed in the immortality of the soul, or the reality 
of a divine influence on the mind. His companions 
endeavored to remove his skepticism, but failing in 
their efforts, they separated him from their commu- 
nion, and he soon afterwards left the island. The 
brethren followed him with their prayers, but for 
years received no account of him. At length he 
made himself known to the Baptist missionaries at 
Serampore, and conversed freely with them respecting 
his state. He appeared deeply penitent, renounced 
his erroneous sentiments, and professed his belief in 
the truth of the Christian revelation. Shortly after- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 129 

wards, he embarked on another voyage from which 
he never returned, and nothing has since been heard 
of him. 

In July, 1801, a reinforcement of eight mission- 
aries arrived at Tahiti from England. Their names 
were Messrs. Youl, Elder, Scott, Davies, Waters, 
Wilson, Hay ward, and Tessier. They received a 
cordial welcome from their brethren, who had been 
four years separated from their country and friends, 
and who had heard from England but once during 
that time. The king and chiefs also seemed pleased 
with their arrival, and Pomare expressed his willing- 
ness that others should join them. Each of the new 
missionaries was formally introduced to the chiefs, 
with which ceremony the latter were much delighted, 
and promised to protect them to the utmost of their 
power. The number of missionaries now amounted 
to thirteen, who, soon after the arrival of the re- 
inforcement, were organized into a regular body. 
Certain rules were adopted for the conduct of divine 
worship, the direction of their daily employments, 
their visits to the natives, and a variety of other duties. 

In the year 1802, the missionaries who had been 
longest on the island had acquired so much of the 
language as to be able to preach to the natives in 
their own tongue, and to engage in the catechetical 
instruction of the children. Early in that year, 
Messrs. Nott and Elder made the first missionary 
tour of Tahiti, and in a little more than thirty days 
preached in nearly every district. They were in 
9 



130 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

general hospitably entertained, and often assembled 
a congregation of attentive hearers. The natives 
seemed interested in the account of the creation, and 
asked various questions about Jehovah, and his Son 
Jesus Christ. Some of them were much affected by 
the exhibition of Jesus as the atonement for sin, 
others said they desired to pray to the true God, but 
were afraid to do so lest the gods of Tahiti should 
destroy them. In the district of Atehuru, they found 
Pomare, and all the chiefs and warriors of the land, 
assembled to hold a religious festival in honor of Oro 
their national idol. Pomare was in the act of offer- 
ing several large hogs to this deity, notwithstanding 
which they began to converse with him on the exis- 
tence of the true God, the absurdity of idol worship, 
and the approach of a judgment day. " A dispute 
soon after arose, in this district, between Otu and the 
Atehurans, which not only interrupted the tranquillity 
of the island, but unhappily occasioned a serious 
rebellion, and a considerable effusion of blood. The 
king appears to have been desirous to get possession 
of Oro, the national idol, which was then in the keep- 
ing of the Atehuran chiefs. Having endeavored, but 
without effect, to persuade the inhabitants of Ate- 
huru to give up their venerated deity to him, he 
at length took it from them by force. This naturally 
inflamed the resentment of the Atehurans, who imme- 
diately resolved to revenge so gross an insult ; and 
finding themselves joined by some of the inhabi- 
tants of the surrounding district, they commenced a 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 131 

furious war against the king's adherents, whom they 
completely vanquished in their first battle. Pomare 
now became seriously alarmed at the success of the 
rebels; and had not, in this exigency, the assistance 
of some British seamen from one or two ships that 
were then at the island, been obtained, the most dis- 
astrous consequences might have followed to the 
mission family. While the commotion lasted, they 
were under no small apprehension for their personal 
safety, and were obliged to destroy their gardens, and 
also the chapel (as has been before stated) in order 
to prevent their affording a shelter to the enemy. 

Although peace was at length restored to the island, 
the missionaries felt that they were not yet secure 
from the horrors of war. Grateful, however, to Provi- 
dence for having protected them from death, they de- 
termined, in dependence on divine assistance, to 
maintain their station, to labor diligently, and to wait 
patiently for their reward. They again enclosed 
their gardens, sowed their seeds, and applied them- 
selves with renewed vigor to the study of the lan- 
guage. In the instruction of the children, they 
experienced great difficulties from their restless and 
unrestrained dispositions and habits ; yet they con- 
tinued to catechise them, and to preach to the adults. 

Near the close of the year 1802, two of the mis- 
sionaries made a second tour of Tahiti for the purpose 
of preaching to the people. In some instances, the 
natives appeared to listen with attention and interest 
to what they said, but others evinced the utmost 



J32 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

indifference. It was, indeed, found impossible to 
make them sensible of the value of the soul, or to 
convey to them any correct idea of its nature. For 
many years the missionaries were treated with ridicule 
and contempt, and their hearts were often grieved to 
see the same ignorance, superstition and cruelty, 
which they found on their arrival, still prevail among 
the heathen. Sometimes when they had gone to 
every house in a village, and the people had not only 
promised to attend their meeting, but had actually 
set out with them, they found on reaching the ap- 
pointed place that only two or three had arrived 
there. Those that came often brought with them 
dogs or cocks which they would set to fighting out- 
side the circle of persons to whom the missionaries 
were preaching. In addition to these and similar 
trials, they were sometimes charged with being the 
authors of ail the disasters of the people, and espe- 
cially with being the cause of all the diseases which 
prevailed among them, and which they supposed 
were brought upon them by the influence of the 
foreigners with their God. Under these circum- 
stances, it required no small degree of forbearance 
and patience, to persevere in preaching the Gospel 
among a people whose spirit and conduct afforded so 
little encouragement to hope it would ever be re- 
ceived. In September, 1S03, an event occurred 
which threatened to involve the island again in war. 
This was the death of Pomare. Though strongly 
attached to his idolatrous system of religion, he had 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 133 

always been friendly to the missionaries, and a short 
time before his death, recommended them to the pro- 
tection of his son. As a governor, Pomare is said to 
have been oppressive, yet it was generally acknowl- 
edged that Tahiti enjoyed more tranquillity during 
his reign than before he became king. He was pos- 
sessed of an active mind, and considerable persever- 
ance, and devoted much of his time to the erection of 
houses, the building of canoes, and the cultivation of 
the ground; and the works which he accomplished 
place both his talents and power in an interesting 
point of view. 

After his father's death, Otu assumed the name of 
Pomare, which has ever since been the regal name in 
Tahiti. 

The missionaries continued, under various dis- 
couraging circumstances, to preach the Gospel in the 
most faithful and affectionate manner, and devoted 
much time to the instruction of the children in the 
catechism, in which the first principles of Christi- 
anity were brought before their minds. Early in 
1805, they formed a vocabulary of Tahitian words, 
and soon after, prepared a larger catechism in the 
native language. So diligent were they in the in- 
struction of the children, that many of them began 
to make considerable progress in the elements of 
religious truth. 

Towards the close of this year, the missionaries 
experienced a heavy loss in the destruction of a large 
and flourishing plantation. There were growing on 



134 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

it cocoanuts, oranges, limes, citrons and other pro- 
ductions, all of which were in a thriving state. In one 
hour, the fence was burnt to the ground, and nearly 
all the plants destroyed. There was reason to 
believe that the fire was caused by some of the natives 
through jealousy of the foreigners, but no measures 
were taken to punish the offenders. 

The king had for some time applied himself to 
writing, and had become so fond of using his pen, 
that he desired the missionaries to build him a small 
house near their own, in order that he might attend 
to their instructions with fewer interruptions than in 
his own dwelling. His progress was so rapid that, 
in the beginning of 1807, he w T as able to address a 
letter to the Missionary Society of London. He first 
composed it in the Tahitian language, and afterwards 
transcribed the English translation which was made 
for him. 

In October of this year, Mr. Davies opened a 
school for boys in a part of the mission-house. 
The attempt succeeded better than was anticipated, 
and Mr. Davies was so much encouraged by the 
appearance of the scholars, that he composed a 
spelling-book in the Tahitian language, which was 
sent to England and printed, and afterwards trans- 
mitted to the islands for the use of the schools. 

Near the close of the year 1807, the mission sus- 
tained a heavy loss in the death of Mr. Jefferson. 
He was a man of ardent piety and great perseverance, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 135 

who for ten years had labored unremittingly to bring 
the heathen to a knowledge of the truth. 

In October, 1808, the missionaries received a note 
from the king, informing them of the probability of 
war, and recommending them to be on their guard, 
that they might not be taken by surprise. In conse- 
quence of this intimation, and the preparations for 
battle which were daily made, they established a 
nightly watch, and seldom went far from their dwell- 
ing. On the 6th of November, a rebellion broke out 
in the district of Matavai, and Pomare, expecting 
that his camp, which was situated near the mission- 
house, would be attacked, recommended that the 
wives and children of the missionaries should take 
refuge in a vessel from Port Jackson, which was then 
anchored in the Bay. Two of the missionaries went 
to the rebel camp, and invited the leaders to an inter- 
view with Pomare. The invitation was rejected, and 
as there now remained to the missionaries no pros- 
pect of safety or usefulness during the war, Pomare 
advised them to leave the island. On the 10th of 
November, six of them sailed from Tahiti, and on 
the following day arrived at Huahine. Four, how- 
ever, who were unmarried, remained on the island, 
but the royalists having been defeated, and the houses, 
gardens, and plantations, belonging to the mission 
destroyed, they were soon after compelled to remove 
to Eimeo, where they were joined by the king. 
With the exception of Mr. Nott, who remained at 
Eimeo, the missionaries who had retired to that island 



136 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

soon after joined their colleagues in Huahine, where 
they labored without success for the instruction of 
the inhabitants. 

In October of the following year, they learned that 
Pom are was unable to reduce his revolted subjects to 
allegiance, and as the reestablishment of his authority 
was very uncertain, the missionaries considered it 
best to retire from the islands, till they should receive 
directions from England. They embraced the first 
opportunity of leaving Huahine, and in February, 
1810, arrived at Port Jackson. " It is not easy to 
form an accurate idea of the distress of the last mis- 
sionaries, who reluctantly left Tahiti, when they 
beheld their gardens demolished, their houses plun- 
dered and burnt, their pupils engaged in all the bar- 
barity of a savage war ; and the people among whom 
they had hoped to introduce order, peace, and happi- 
ness, doomed to the complicated miseries attending 
anarchy, idolatry, and the varied horrors of cruelty 
and vice." 

The mission in the South Sea Islands seemed now 
to be finally closed, and those devoted servants of 
Christ, who had so long and so patiently labored 
amidst difficulties and dangers, were constrained to 
fear that they had " spent their strength for nought." 
But though by their departure, Tahiti became for a 
season a prey to the spoiler, and was again sub- 
jected to the barbarous rule of heathenism, it was 
not abandoned by Him, in obedience to whose com- 
mand to " go and teach all nations," the mission had 
been undertaken. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GOSPEL IN THE GEORGIAN 
ISLANDS. 

Return of the Missionaries to Eimeo — Favorable indications in the 
King — His return to Tahiti — Notice of Tuahine and Oito — First 
record of the names of the professors of Christianity — Idols publicly 
burnt — Encouraging appearances — Return of Pom are to Eimeo — 
Persecution of the Christians — Martyrdom in Tahiti — Conspiracy 
against the Bure Atua — A battle fought — Clemency of Pomare— 
Destruction of the god Oro — Overthrow of Idolatry — Triumphs of 
the Gospel. 

The missionaries had not been long in New South 
Wales, before some of them became anxious to return 
to the islands which they had so reluctantly left. 
They also received several letters from Pomare, ex- 
pressing the deepest sorrow at their absence, and 
inviting them to return as soon as possible. Encour- 
aged by this manifestation of interest on the part of 
the king, and by the restoration of tranquillity on the 
island, five of the missionaries, Messrs. BicknelJ, 
Davies, Henry, Scott, and Wilson, sailed from Port 
Jackson in the autumn of 1811, and re-joined Mr. 
Nott at Eimeo. They were received by Pomare 
with the warmest demonstrations of joy, and the sin- 



13S SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

cerity of his professions was evinced by the evident 
partiality which he showed for their society. They 
found that during their absence the king had scrupu- 
lously observed the Christian Sabbath, and he now 
expressed the deepest contrition on account of his past 
life. He spent much of his time in reading and writ- 
ing, and in earnest inquiries about God, and the way 
of acceptance through Jesus Christ. He had for 
some time past shown contempt for the idols of his 
ancestors, and expressed a desire to be taught a more 
excellent way, that he might obtain the favor of the 
true God. This change in the king's views had been 
noticed by his subjects with the most fearful appre- 
hension as to its results. They were powerfully 
affected, on one occasion, when a present was brought 
him of a turtle, an animal which had always been held 
sacred, and which it was customary to dress with 
sacred fire within the precincts of the temple, part of 
it being invariably offered to the idol. The attend- 
ants were proceeding with the turtle to the marae, 
when Pom are called them back, and told them to 
prepare an oven to bake it, in his own kitchen, and 
serve it up, without offering it to the idol. The peo- 
ple around were astonished, and could hardly believe 
that the king was in a state of sanity, or was really in 
earnest. The king repeated his direction ; a fire was 
made, the turtle baked, and served up at the next 
repast. The people of the king's household stood in 
mute expectation of some fearful visitation of the 
anger of the god as soon as a morsel of the fish should 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 139 

be touched ; for this they believed was an act of the 
most daring impiety. The king cut up the turtle, and 
began to eat it, inviting some that sat at meat with 
him to do the same ; but no one could be induced to 
touch it, as they all expected every moment to see him 
either expire, or writhe in strong convulsions. The 
king endeavored to convince his companions that their 
idea of the power of the gods was altogether imagin- 
ary, and that they had been the subjects of complete 
delusion. But the people could not believe him ; 
and although the meal was finished without any evil 
result, they carried away the dishes with many ex- 
pressions of astonishment, confidently expecting that 
some judgment would overtake him before the mor- 
row; for they could not believe that an act of sacri- 
lege, such as that of which he had been guilty, could 
be committed with impunity. Pomare now requested 
baptism, saying, that he " desired to be happy after 
death, and to be saved at the day of judgment. 7 ' 
Although the missionaries had reason to believe the 
king sincere in his desires to become a Christian, 
they feared that his mind might not be sufficiently 
informed with regard to the nature and design of the 
ordinance, and therefore proposed to him to defer it 
till he received more instruction. At the same time 
that the king thus publicly desired to profess Chris- 
tianity, he proprosed to erect a large and substantial 
building for the worship of God in Eimeo. 

Soon after the return of the missionaries, two chiefs 
arrived from Tahiti, and invited Pomare to return and 



140 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

resume his government in that island. The departure 
of the king to Tahiti was regretted by the missiona- 
ries, who feared that he might not be able to with- 
stand the temptations he would meet with, and the 
persecutions to which he might be exposed. But 
during his absence they received several interesting 
letters from him, which, with other circumstances, 
greatly encouraged their hearts, and led them to hope 
that God was about to crown their labors with his 
blessing. 

Communications between Tahiti and Eimeo had 
now become frequent, and the missionaries were 
cheered by the accounts which they received from 
time to time of the efforts of Pomare to enlighten the 
minds of his subjects. In addition to this, one of the 
missionaries, who visited Tahiti, returned with the 
report that a spirit of inquiry had been awakened 
among some of the inhabitants of that island, and that 
two of those whom they had formerly instructed, 
occasionally met to pray to God. Animated by this 
intelligence, Messrs. Scott and Hay ward were deputed 
to visit Tahiti, and make the tour of the island. On 
the 16th of June, 1813, the morning after their arrival 
at Tahiti, they retired to the bushes near their lodg- 
ings for meditation and prayer. While thus engaged, 
Mr. Scott heard a voice at no great distance from his 
retreat. Approaching the spot from which the sound 
proceeded, he distinctly heard a native engaged in 
prayer in his own mother-tongue, with an ardor which 
evinced his sincerity. " It was the first time that he 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 141 

knew that a native of Tahiti had prayed to any but 
his idols : it was the first native voice in praise and 
prayer that he had ever heard, and he listened almost 
entranced with the appropriate and glowing language 
of devotion then employed, until his feelings could 
be restrained no longer. Tears of joy started from 
his gladdened eye, and rolled in swift succession 
down his cheeks, while he could scarcely forbear 
rushing to the spot, and clasping in his arms the un- 
conscious author of his ecstacy. He stood transfixed 
as it were to the earth till the native retired, when he 
bowed his knees, and screened from human observa- 
tion by the verdant shrubs, offered up under the can- 
opy of heaven his grateful adoration to the Most High, 
under all the melting of soul, and the excitement of 
spirit, which the unprecedented, unexpected, though 
long-desired events of the morning had inspired." 
The name of the individual who had thus been dis- 
covered was Oito. He had formerly been an inmate 
of the mission family, and had there been instructed 
in the knowledge of the true God. 

Since the return of the king to Tahiti, Oito had 
been with him occasionally, and some remarks from 
him had awakened convictions of sin. Having no 
one to direct him, and not knowing how to obtain 
relief, he applied to Tuahinc, who had for a long 
time lived with the missionaries. Tuahine was in a 
state of mind similar to that of Oito. Their conver- 
sation strengthened their impressions, and they 
resolved to retire to the valleys for meditation and 



]42 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

prayer. This course at first excited ridicule, but 
after a time several young persons united with them, 
and this little band, without any missionary to guide 
them, agreed to refrain from the worship of their idols, 
and from the evil practices of their country. They 
engaged also to observe the Sabbath day, and to wor- 
ship Jehovah only.* 

Before they commenced their journey round 
Tahiti, Messrs, Scott and Hayward wrote to their 
brethren at Eimeo an account of what they had seen 
and heard. This intelligence made a very strong 
impression on the minds of the missionaries, and they 
gave vent to their feelings in tears of gratitude and 
joy. For sixteen years they had patiently labored and 
prayed, toiling with untiring zeal for the conversion 
of the natives, without any tokens of success. But 
now, the seed which had been sown with many tears 
began to spring up, and there was a prospect that 
they would reap an abundant harvest 

After making the tour of Tahiti, and preaching to 
the people whenever they could collect a congrega- 
tion, Messrs. Scott and Hayward returned to Eimeo. 

* Tuahine afterwards became a valuable assistant to the mis- 
sionaries, not only as a teacher in the schools, but also in trans- 
lating the Scriptures into the native language. He subsequently 
accompanied one of the missionaries to Raiatea, and was ap- 
pointed deacon in the native church there, a station which he 
continued to fill till his death, in 1827. He was much respect 
ed by the people, and died in the enjoyment of the consolations 
of the Gospel, at the age of forty-five. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 143 

Tuahine, Oito, and their companions accompanied 
them, in order to attend the school which the mis- 
sionaries had established on that island. On the 25th 
of July, 1813, the new chapel at Eimeo was opened 
for public worship. At the close of the evening 
service, Mr. Davies gave notice according to previous 
arrangement, that " On the following day a public 
meeting would be held when all who had sincerely 
renounced their false gods, who desired also to relin- 
quish their evil customs, to receive Jehovah for their 
God, and to be instructed in his word, were invited 
to attend. " The object of the missionaries in 
appointing this meeting, was to ascertain who wished 
to become disciples of Jesus Christ, that they might 
pay them special attention, and give them suitable 
instructions. At the time appointed forty natives 
came, who were individually interrogated respecting 
their views and feelings. Of these a few expressed 
an intention to renounce idolatry, but seemed unwill- 
ing to commit themselves. Thirty-one declared that 
they had already cast away their idols, and desired that 
their names might be written down as those who were 
determined to worship the true God. To this number 
eleven others were soon added, among whom were 
Taaroarii, a young chief of Huahine and Sir Charles 
Sander's Island, and Matapuupuu, the chief priest of 
Huahine, who had long been one of the principal 
supporters of idolatry in that island. The missiona- 
ries held frequent meetings with those persons whose 
names they had written down, for the purpose of 



144 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

explaining to them the doctrines of revelation, and 
uniting with them in social worship. They had the 
satisfaction of hearing some of the new converts lead 
in prayer, and were surprised and gratified with their 
fluency and fervor, as well as the appropriateness of 
their language when thus engaged. 

In one of the visits which Mr. Nott made to the 
residence of Taaroarii for the purpose of preaching 
to his people, he was followed by Patii, the priest 
of Papetoai, the district in which the missionaries 
resided. As they returned to the settlement, Patii 
communicated to Mr. Nott his intention of bringing 
out his idols on the morrow, and publicly burning 
them. Mr. Nott expressed a fear that he was jesting; 
but Patii replied, " Don't be unbelieving, wait till 
to-morrow and you shall see." " The arrival of the 
evening of the following day was awaited with an 
unusual agitation, and excitement of feeling. Hope 
and fear alternately pervaded the minds of the mis- 
sionaries and their pupils, with regard to the burning 
of the idols, and the consequent tumult, devastation, 
and bloodshed that might follow. The public ad- 
herents of Christianity were but few, and surrounded 
by jealous and cruel idolaters, who already began to 
wonder " whereunto this thing might grow." Patii, 
however, was faithful to his word. He with his 
friends had collected a quantity of fuel near the sea- 
beach ; and in the afternoon the wood was split, 
and piled on a point of land in the western part 
of Papetoai, near the large national marae in which 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 145 

he had officiated. The report of his intention had 
spread among the people of the district, and multi- 
tudes assembled to witness this daring act of impiety, 
and the sudden vengeance which they expected would 
fall upon the sacrilegious criminal. The missionaries 
and their friends also attended. The various emotions 
of hope and fear, of dread and expectation, with a 
strange air of mysterious foreboding, agitating the 
bosoms of the multitude, were strongly marked in the 
countenances of the spectators ; resembling perhaps 
in no small degree, the feeling depicted in the visages 
of the assembled Israelites, when the prophet Elijah 
summoned them to prove the power of Baal, or to 
acknowledge the omnipotence of the Lord God of 
Israel. A short time before sunset Patii appeared, 
and ordered his attendants to apply fire to the pile. 
This being done, he hastened to the sacred depository 
of his gods, brought them out, not indeed as he had 
been on some occasions accustomed to do, that they 
might receive the blind homage of the waiting popu- 
lace, but to convince the deluded multitude of the 
impotence and vanity of the objects of their adoration 
and their dread. When he approached the burning 
pile, he laid them down on the ground. They were 
small carved wooden images, rude imitations of the 
human figure; or shapeless logs of wood, covered 
with finely braided, and curiously wrought cinet, of 
cocoanut fibres, and ornamented with red feathers. 
Patii tore off the sacred cloth in which they were 
enveloped in order that they might be safe from the 

10 



146 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

gaze of vulgar eyes, stripped them of their ornaments, 
which he cast into the fire ; and then one by one 
threw the idols themselves into the crackling flames 
— sometimes pronouncing the name and pedigree of 
the idol, and expressing his own regret at having 
worshipped it, — at others, calling upon the spectators 
to behold their inability even to help themselves. 
Thus were the idols which Patii, who was a powerful 
priest in Eimeo, had worshipped, publicly destroyed. 
The flames became extinct, and the sun cast his last 
beams, as he sank behind the western wave, upon 
the expiring embers of that fire, which had already 
mingled with the earth upon which it had been 
kindled the ashes of some of the once obeyed and 
dreaded idols of Eiu^o." 

" Although many of the spectators undoubtedly 
viewed Patii with feelings analagous to those with 
which the Melitians looked on the Apostle Paul when 
the viper fastened on his hand, and were many of 
them, evidently disappointed when they saw no evil 
befall him, they did not attempt to rescue the gods 
when insulted, and perhaps riven by the axe, or 
stripped to be cast into the flames. No tumult fol- 
lowed, and no one came forward to revenge the insult 
offered to the tutelar deities of their country." * 

As might have been expected, the example of Patii 
produced the most decisive effects on the priests and 
people. Many in Tahiti and Eimeo, emboldened by 

* Polynesian Researches, ii. 88 — 90. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 147 

his example, not only burnt their idols but destroyed 
their maraes. Patii himself became a pupil of the 
missionaries, and his subsequent life evinced the 
sincerity of his profession of Christianity. 

On the 5th of October, 1813, the native Christians 
for the first time united with their teachers in observing 
the Monthly Concert of Prayer for the diffusion of the 
Gospel. The names of fifty who had renounced idol- 
atry were now recorded, and the number of those who 
attended public worship was so great, that it was 
•found necessary to enlarge their place of meeting. 
The deportment of those who professed to have 
been converted was most encouraging. They were 
punctual, and regular in their observance of the out- 
ward ordinances of religion, in social meetings for 
prayer, and in seasons of retirement for private devo- 
tion. Their habit of asking a blessing, and returning 
thanks at their meals, and their frequent attention to 
prayer, drew upon them the ridicule of their country- 
men, who gave them the designation of Bare Atua, 
or praying people. 

On the 16th of January, 1814, Idia, the king's 
mother, died. Like her husband, she had been uni- 
formly friendly to the missionaries, and like him, she 
died without embracing the Christian faith. 

During a residence of two years at Tahiti, Pomare 
had been Tainly endeavoring to recover his authority 
in his hereditary dominions. Finding himself un- 
successful, he returned to Eimeo in the autumn of 



14S SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

1814, accompanied by a large number of followers, 
all of whom professed Christianity. 

The congregation of worshippers at Eimeo was 
now so much increased that it was again necessary 
to enlarge their place of worship. Divine service 
was not only performed twice on the Sabbath, but 
once during the week, in addition to which, the mis- 
sionaries held a meeting every Sabbath evening, with 
individuals whose names had been written down, and 
spent much time in giving private instruction to 
those who desired it. Their seasons of worship were 
enlivened by singing hymns, which had been com- 
posed in the native language, and learned by the 
converts. How striking the change in the condition 
of these heathen, who, a few months previous, wor- 
shipped gods the work of their own hands, and sang 
songs in honor of them ! Now they delighted to meet 
to pray to the true God, and to celebrate his praises. 
So rapid was the progress of divine truth among 
the natives, that, at the close of the year 1814, no 
less than three hundred hearers regularly attended 
the preaching of the Gospel, and about two hundred 
were constantly receiving instruction in the different 
schools. 

But these encouraging appearances were followed 
by severe trials. The attention of the idolatrous 
portion of the population was aroused, their fears 
were awakened, and their bad passions inflamed. 
They regarded the Christians with feelings of the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 149 

most implacable hatred, and sought opportunities to 
put them to death. On one occasion, an interesting 
and intelligent young man, a pupil in the school at 
Eimeo, was selected as a victim. When the servants 
of the priest came to take him he fled, but was 
pursued, shot at, and wounded by his enemies. Un- 
able to make his escape, he secreted himself among 
the bushes, where he was so entirely hidden from 
view that his persecutors, though they continued their 
search for some time, were not able to find him. In 
the darkness of the night, he crept to the dwelling 
of his friends, where his wound was dressed ; after 
which he was conveyed to a place of safety. He 
afterwards recovered, but carried the scar of his 
wound to his grave. 

Another affecting instance of persecution for re- 
ligion, which resulted in the death of an intelligent 
young man, is related by one of the missionaries. 
This young man had renounced idolatry, and become 
a disciple of Christ, on account of which he was the 
subject of much ridicule with his friends and con- 
nections. Promises and threats were alternately em- 
ployed to induce him to return to his former religion, 
but both were unavailing. Remaining firm in his 
determination to serve the Lord, he was at length 
banished from his father's house, and forced to leave 
the neighborhood. But his persecutions did not end 
here. A heathen ceremony was about to be observed, 
for which a human victim was required, and this 
young disciple was selected, because he professed 



150 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

to be a worshipper of the true God. On the evening 
of the day preceding that on which the ceremony 
was to take place, the young man had retired as 
usual to a secluded spot near his dwelling for the 
purpose of devotion. While he was thus engaged, 
a number of the servants of the priests and chiefs 
approached him, and told him that the king had 
arrived, and wishing to see him, had sent to invite 
him to return. He was aware of the approaching 
ceremony, and knew that a human sacrifice was to 
be offered. It instantly occurred to him that he was 
to be the victim, and, in reply to their request, he 
told them calmly that he did not think the king had 
arrived, and therefore it was unnecessary for him to 
accompany them. They then said that the priest or 
some of his friends wished to see him. " Why," 
answered the young man, " do you thus seek to 
deceive me ? I know that a ceremony approaches, 
and that a human victim is to be offered. Something 
within me tells me that / am to be that victim, and 
your appearance and message confirm my conviction. 
Jesus Christ is my keeper, without his permission 
you cannot hurt me. You may be permitted to kill 
my body, but I am not afraid to die. My soul you 
cannot hurt, that is safe in the hands of Jesus Christ, 
by whom it will be kept beyond your power. 35 Irri- 
tated by his reply, the men rushed upon him, murdered 
him, and bore his body to the temple, where it was 
offered to their god. 

Notwithstanding these persecutions, accessions 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 151 

were daily made to the number of the Christians. 
This constant addition to the strength of the Chris- 
tian party, and the confidence with which they main- 
tained the superiority of their religion, excited the 
apprehensions of their enemies. They feared lest 
Christianity should ultimately prevail, and the gods 
and their temples be destroyed. In order to prevent 
this, they determined to put to death every one, in 
Tahiti, who was known to pray to Jehovah. The 
chiefs of several districts entered into a confederacy 
against the Bare Atua, all of whom were to be 
massacred at once. The night of the ?th of July, 
1815, was fixed on for the perpetration of the deed. 
A few hours only before the preparations were com* 
pleted, the intelligence of the design was secretly 
communicated to some of the Christians, who im- 
mediately got on board their canoes and fled to 
Eimeo. The disappointed chiefs now quarrelled 
among themselves. Many natives were killed, and 
the victorious party proceeded through the northeast, 
part of the island, burning and plundering wherever 
they came, and converting it into a scene of ruin and 
desolation. 

Repeated messages of peace were sent by the king 
to the conquerors, who constantly declared that 
though still at variance among themselves, they were 
at peace with him. At length, after a season of great 
anxiety and suspense, there appeared a prospect of 
peace. The refugees in Eimeo were invited by the 
pagan chiefs of Tahiti to return, and re-occupy their 



152 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

lands. The invitation was accepted, and as an ancient 
custom made it necessary that the king should re- 
instate them in their possessions, Pomare and his 
people accompanied them to Tahiti. As they ap- 
proached the shore, the idolatrous party assembled 
on the beach to oppose the landing of the king, and 
actually fired at his attendants. Instead of returning 
the fire, the king sent a flag of truce, and a proposal 
of peace. An apparent reconciliation was at length 
effected, the king and his followers were allowed to 
land, and the people quietly proceeded to their plan- 
tations. The calm, however, was of short duration. 
On the Sabbath, the 12th of November, as the king, 
and the people who had come with him from Eimeo, 
were assembled for public worship, they were suddenly 
alarmed by a discharge of musketry. Many of the 
Christians had met for worship under arms, and others 
soon provided themselves with their weapons. An 
obstinate engagement ensued, in which several fell 
on both sides. Pomare gained a complete victory. 
In this battle, the first fought by Pomare since he had 
become a Christian king, the humanizing influence 
of the Gospel was manifested, According to former 
custom, the king's warriors were preparing to follow 
and put to death their flying enemies. But Pomare 
exclaimed, " It is enough ! " and strictly prohibited 
his men from pursuing the fugitives. 

At the close of the battle, the king directed a 
number of his people to proceed to the temple in 
which Oro the great national idol was deposited, and 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 153 

to destroy the temple, altar, idols, and every vestige 
of idolatry. In the evening of the same day, Pomare 
and the chiefs invited the Christians to assemble, and 
render thanks to God for the protection he had 
afforded thein. On this occasion, they were joined 
by many who had till then been zealous worshippers of 
idols, but who now desired to acknowledge Jehovah 
as the true God. 

The party sent by the king to destroy the god Oro 
proceeded to the temple at Tautira, and having 
brought out the idol, stripped it of its sacred coverings 
and highly valued ornaments, and threw it contempt- 
uously on the ground. The altars were then broken 
down, the temples demolished, and the sacred houses 
of the gods, with all their appendages, committed to 
the flames. The temples, altars, and idols, all around 
Tahiti, were soon after destroyed in the same way. 
"Thus was idolatry abolished in Tahiti and Eimeo ; 
the idols hurled from the thrones they had so long 
occupied, and the remnant of the people liberated 
from the slavery and delusion in which, by the cun- 
ningly devised fables of the priests, they had been for 
ages held as in fetters of iron. It is impossible to 
contemplate the mighty deliverance thus effected, 
without exclaiming, < What hath God wrought !' and 
desiring, with regard to other parts of the world, the 
arrival of that promised and auspicious era, when 
• the gods that have not made the heavens and the 
earth, even they, shall perish from the earth, and from 
under these heavens, 5 and < the idols he shall utterly 
abolish.' " 



154 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Pomare was now by universal consent restored to 
his government, and to supreme authority in his 
dominions. His clemency, on the memorable 12th 
of November, made a strong impression on the minds 
of the vanquished. That they had been suffered to 
escape with their lives, that their houses had not been 
plundered and burnt, and that their wives and children 
remained uninjured, was matter of astonishment to 
them all, and led them to ask, " Where can the king 
and the Bure Atua have imbibed these new principles 
of humanity and forbearance 1 n At length they 
concluded that it must be the new religion which 
had produced such a change, and unanimously ex* 
pressed their determination to embrace it themselves. 
" The family and district temples, and altars, as well 
as those that were national, were demolished, the 
idols destroyed by the very individuals who had but 
recently been so zealous for their preservation, and 
in a very short time there was not one professed 
idolater remaining.' 3 The people were earnest in 
inviting the missionaries to come and instruct them, 
in the knowledge of the Christian religion. Schools 
were established, and places for public worship erected, 
the Sabbath was observed, divine service performed, 
and infant murder, with all the abominations of idol- 
atry, were discontinued. 

As soon as possible after the battle, tidings of the 
result were conveyed to Eimeo. The missionaries 
were almost overcome with joy, when they learned 
that the Christians were safe 3 and hastened to render 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 155 

thanks to God, with feelings which it would be im- 
possible to describe. " In that one year they reaped 
the harvest of sixteen laborious seed-times, sixteen 
dreary and anxious winters, and sixteen unproductive 
summers. They now enjoyed the unexpected but 
exhilirating satisfaction resulting from the pleasure 
of the Lord prospering in their hands, in a degree 
and under circumstances that few are privileged to 
experience." A missionary from Eimeo was soon 
despatched to Tahiti. On his arrival, he found the 
people so anxious to hear about Jesus Christ, that 
they would often spend the whole night in conver- 
sation and inquiry on subjects connected with reli- 
gion. The schools every where greatly increased, and 
hundreds who had been among the earliest scholars 
were now engaged in imparting to others the knowl- 
edge they had received. " Aged priests and warriors 
with their spelling-books in their hands, might be 
seen sitting on the benches in the schools, by the 
side, perhaps, of some smiling little boy or girl by 
whom they were now taught the use of letters. Others 
might be often seen employed in pulling down the 
houses of their idols, and erecting temples for the 
worship of the Prince of peace, working in com- 
panionship and harmony with those whom they had 
so recently met on the field of battle." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE GEORGIAN ISLANDS. 

Pomare's idols sent to England — Arrival of Mr. Ellis — Astonishment of 
the natives at seeing a Horse — Erection of a Printing Office — First 
printing done by Pomare — Strong desire for Books — Ingenious sub- 
stitutes for binding— Formation of a native Missionary Society — 
Arrival of Missionaries— Station at Tahiti re-occupied — Manufac- 
ture of Sugar attempted — Royal Mission Chapel — Substitutes for 
Bells — Baptism of Pomare — First Code of Laws — Change in the 
appearance of the Females — Regard for the Sabbath — Culture of 
Cotton introduced. 

Early in the year 1816, Pomare sent most of his 
family idols to the missionaries, with the request that 
they might either be committed to the flames or sent 
to England for exhibition. The reason assigned for 
the latter proposition was that the people might 
know " Tahiti's foolish gods." The idols were ac- 
cordingly sent to England, and deposited in the Mis- 
sionary Museum. In February of the following year, 
the mission was reinforced by the arrival at Tahiti of 
the Rev. Mr. Ellis. Soon after the ship which brought 
him came to anchor, Pomare went on board to wel- 
come the new missionary. Mr. Ellis had brought 
with him a horse sent out by the owners of the ship 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 157 

as a present to the king. As none of the natives had 
ever seen such an animal, Pomare and all the people 
were greatly delighted. Early the next morning, the 
horse was led out from the place where he had been 
tied during the night, the multitude of people who 
had assembled gazing at him with great astonish- 
ment. Pomare requested that the saddle and bridle 
might be put on the horse, and that the Captain 
would ride him. His wishes were complied with, 
and the people appeared to be highly entertained, 
when they saw the animal walking and running along 
the beach with the Captain on his back. The natives 
called the horse buaa-horo-fcnna and buaa-afai-taata, 
land-running pig, and man-carrying pig. 

Mr. Ellis having landed was cordially welcomed 
by the missionaries, who conducted him to their habi- 
tations, and rejoiced his heart by telling him of the 
great and glorious change which had been effected 
in Tahiti and Eimeo through the preaching of the 
Gospel. The pious chiefs and inhabitants of the 
neighborhood also came to greet him. One of them 
saluted him with these words. " Blessing on you 
from God, peace to you in coming here ; on account 
of the love of God are you come." " I was aston- 
ished," says Mr. Ellis, " at the accounts I now 
received of the change that had taken place among 
the people. The profession of Christianity was 
general, many had learned to read, and were teach- 
ing others, all were regular in their exercises of devo- 
tion, and in many of the small gardens attached to 



158 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the native houses, it was pleasing to see the little 
fare bare liuna, house for hidden prayer." 

Mr. Ellis had brought with him from England a 
^printing press and types, and at the request of the 
Directors of the Missionary Society had learned the 
art of printing, so that the missionaries hoped 
they, should soon be able to supply the increasing 
demand for books. Mr. Ellis, having spent a few 
days at Tahiti, removed to Eimeo, where a dwelling- 
house for him and a printing office were soon erected 
by the natives. The floor of the latter was partly 
covered with the trunks of bread-fruit trees split in 
two, and partly paved with stone. One or two glass 
windows, the first ever seen in Eimeo, were placed 
in the building. The curiosity of the natives to see 
•the printing press brought persons from different 
parts of the island, and also from Tahiti, to look at 
this " wonderful machine." 

Many hundreds who had learned to read were still 
destitute of a book, and others, who could repeat 
from memory the whole of the books they had, were 
anxious to obtain new ones. In some families where 
all were scholars, there was but one book, and many 
were entirely destitute. Some had written out the 
whole spelling book on sheets of writing paper, while 
others had written the alphabet on pieces of cloth 
made from the bark of a tree. From the first arrival 
of the printing press, Pomare manifested a strong 
interest in it, and rendered much assistance in the 
erection of the building for its accommodation. A 
message having been sent to inform him that the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 159 

press was about to go into operation, he hastened to 
the printing office, accompanied by a few favorite 
chiefs, and followed by a large multitude of people. 
Mr. Ellis, seeing the king looking with evident 
delio-ht at the new and shining types, asked him if he 
would like to put together the first alphabet. He 
replied in the affirmative, while his countenance 
beamed with joy. Taking the composing-stick in 
his hand, he arranged the capital letters in order till 
he had finished the alphabet. The smaller letters he 
put together in the same way, and afterwards added 
a few monosyllables so as to fill out the first page of 
the spelling book. He seemed delighted when this 
was completed, and wished to have it struck off im- 
mediately, but was told that it could not be printed 
till a sheet full was composed. When this was done, 
the king was again sent for as he had requested, and 
immediately after his arrival he began to prepare 
himself to take off the first sheet printed in the South 
Sea Islands. Having been told how it was to be 
done, he jocosely charged those around him not to 
watch him very narrowly, and if he should not do it 
right, not to laugh. Mr. Ellis gave him the printer's 
ink-ball, and directed him to rub it two or three 
times on the face of the letters, which he did. A 
sheet of clean paper was then placed upon the parch- 
ment, covered down, turned under the press, and the 
king was directed to pull the handle. " He did so, 
and when the paper was removed from beneath the 
press, and the covering lifted up, the chiefs and 



160 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

assistants who were present rushed towards it to see 
what effect the king's pressure had produced. When 
they saw the letters black, and large, and well- 
defined, there was one simultaneous expression of 
wonder and delight." Pomare was so much pleased 
with his success that he expressed a wish to take off 
another sheet. While he was thus engaged, the first 
sheet was shown to the crowd that had gathered 
around the building, who, when they saw it, raised 
one general shout of astonishment and joy. Highly 
gratified with the incidents of the day, Pomare 
returned to his dwelling, taking with him the sheets 
which he had printed. An edition of the spelling 
book, consisting of 2,600 copies was soon finished. 
Twenty-three hundred copies of the Tahitian Cate- 
chism, and a collection of texts of Scripture, were 
next printed, and afterwards 3,000 copies of St. 
Luke's Gospel, which had been translated by Mr. 
Nott. But although the missionaries labored eight 
and sometimes ten hours daily, the work, in conse- 
quence of the want of such things as could not be 
procured at the islands, advanced but slowly. 

The curiosity of the natives, excited by the estab- 
lishment of the printing press, was not easily satisfied. 
Pomare visited the printing office almost every day, 
the chiefs requested to be admitted inside, and the 
windows, doors, and every crevice through which 
they could peep, were filled with people exclaiming 
" Bcritanie ! fenua paari ;" " O, Britain, land of 
skill," (or knowledge.) Multitudes from every dis- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 161 

trict in Eimeo, and many from other islands came to 
procure books, and to see the machine which per- 
formed such wonders. For several weeks before the 
first portion of Scripture was finished, the district 
of Afareaitu, in which the printing office was situ- 
ated, resembled a public fair. The beach was 
lined with canoes, the houses of the inhabitants 
were filled to overflowing, and temporary encamp- 
ments were every where erected. The printing 
office was visited by such numbers of the strangers, 
that they often climbed upon each other's backs, or 
on the sides of the windows, so as to darken the 
room. To prevent intrusion from the natives, the 
house had been enclosed with a fence five or six feet 
high, but this, instead of repressing their curiosity, 
was converted into the means of gratifying it. Num- 
bers were frequently seen sitting on the top of the 
fence, by which they were enabled to look over the 
heads of their companions who surrounded the win- 
dows. 

So anxious were the people to obtain books, that 
they were constantly coming from other islands, and 
many waited five or six weeks rather than return 
without them. Sometimes a canoe would arrive with 
six or eight persons, bringing a large bundle of let- 
ters, written on plantain leaves and rolled up like a 
scroll, from individuals who were unable to apply 
personally for a book. " One evening about sunset," 
says Mr. Ellis, " a canoe from Tahiti with five men 
arrived on this errand. They landed on the beach, 
11 



162 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

lowered their sail, and drawing their canoe on the 
sand, hastened to my dwelling. I met them at the 
door, and asked them their errand. "Luka, or, Te 
Parau na Luka," " Luke, or The Word of Luke," 
was the simultaneous reply, accompanied with the 
exhibition of the bamboo canes filled with cocoanut- 
oil, which they had brought as payment for the copies 
required, and which they now held up in their hands. 
I told them I had none ready that night, but that if 
they would come on the morrow I would give them 
as many as they needed, recommending them, in the 
mean time, to go and lodge with some friend in the 
village. It soon grew dark, and I wished them good 
night and afterward retired to rest, supposing they 
had gone to sleep at the house of some friend ; but 
on looking out of my window about day-break, I saw 
these five men lying along on the ground on the out- 
side of my house, their only bed being some plaited 
cocoanut-leaves, and their only covering the large 
native cloth they usually wear over their shoulders. 
I hastened out and asked them if they had been 
there all night. They said they had. I then in- 
quired why they did not, as I had directed them, go 
and lodge at some house, and come again. Their 
answer surprised and delighted me. They said, " We 
were afraid that, had we gone away, some one might 
have come before us this morning, and have taken 
what books you had to spare, and then we should 
have been obliged to return without any ,* therefore 
after you left us last night, we determined not to go 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 163 

away till we had procured the books." I called them 
into the printing office, and as soon as I could put 
the sheets together, gave them each a copy. They 
then requested two copies more, one for a mother, 
the other for a sister, for which they had brought 
payment. I gave these also. Each wrapped his book 
up in a piece of white native cloth, put it in his 
bosom, wished me good morning, and without, I 
believe, eating or drinking, or calling on any person 
in the settlement, they hastened to the beach, launched 
their canoe, hoisted their matting sail, and steered 
rejoicing to their native island." Many of the natives 
in their eagerness to obtain books were no doubt 
influenced by mere curiosity, others by a wish to pos- 
sess something new, but very many were actuated by 
a desire to become more fully acquainted with the 
word of God, and to read in their own language those 
truths which were able to make them " wise unto 
salvation." Most of those who received the books 
made them their constant companions, and read them 
carefully and regularly, so that they became to them 
the source of their highest enjoyment. 

Much ingenuity was requisite in procuring covers 
for the books, and many expedients were resorted to 
by the natives to keep up the supply. At first a large 
quantity of native cloth was purchased, which, when 
well beaten together and dried, formed a good stiff 
pasteboard. The sheep skins brought from England 
were cut into strips for the backs and corners, and a 
large bundle of old newspapers dyed for covers to the 



164 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

sides. When the sheep skins were all consumed, the 
skins of goats, dogs, and cats were made to answer a 
similar purpose. Several of the natives had not only 
learned to print but to bind the books, so that the 
work progressed rapidly. The books were for a time 
gratuitously distributed among the people, but when 
the first portion of Scripture was finished, a small 
equivalent was required that the people might learn 
their value. Cocoanut oil being the article they could 
most easily procure, a quantity of it was brought in 
exchange for the books, and always with the greatest 
cheerfulness on the part of the natives. Soon after 
the Gospel of Luke was finished, an edition of hymns 
in the native language was printed, which became 
an important means of assisting the natives in their 
praises to God. 

The greater portion of the inhabitants of the 
Georgian Islands having embraced Christianity, the 
missionaries considered it a favorable time to impress 
upon the converts the duty of those who enjoy the 
Gospel, not only to maintain, but also to extend it. 
Fearing that the natives, if called on immediately 
after their conversion to support the teachers laboring 
among them, might infer that the missionaries were 
influenced by motives of pecuniary advantage, they 
formed the plan of establishing among them a Mis- 
sionary Society, auxiliary to the London Society. 
The plan was proposed to the king, and to several 
of the leading chiefs, who at once approved of the 
design. The 13th of May, 1818, which was the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 165 

anniversary of the London Missionary Society, was 
appointed for the organization of the native society. 
The district of Papetoai, on the western side of 
Eimeo, was the place chosen for the meeting. Here 
the king and chiefs assembled. At sunrise, the 
missionaries attended a meeting for prayer in the 
English language. The natives, also, held one among 
themselves at the same hour. In the forenoon a 
sermon was preached in English by one of the mis- 
sionaries : in the afternoon the services were entirely 
in the native language. Long before the appointed 
hour, the chapel was crowded, and a larger number 
remained outside than gained admission. Under 
these circumstances, it was proposed to adjourn to a 
beautiful grove at a short distance from the chapel. 
Thither the natives repaired, and seated themselves 
on the ground under the cocoanut trees. Chairs 
were provided for the king and chiefs, and a raised 
stand, four or five feet from the ground, was pre- 
pared for Mr. Nott. The services commenced with 
singing and prayer, after which Mr. Nott delivered a 
short and appropriate discourse from Acts viii. 30, 31. 
At the conclusion, Pomare rose and addressed the 
multitude. He began by referring them to the system 
of false religion by which they been so long enslaved, 
and reminded them very feelingly of the rigid exac- 
tions formerly made in the name of their imaginary 
gods. He then alluded to the toil which they had 
endured, and the zeal and diligence which they had so 
often manifested in the service of these idols, enume- 



166 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

rating the sacrifices made and the victims slain to 
propitiate their favor or avert their displeasure. In 
contrast with these features of their former religion, 
he placed the mild and benevolent motives of the Gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ, and the benefits which its introduc- 
tion had conferred. He then stated the obligations 
they were under to God for sending them his word, 
and the small manifestation of gratitude they had yet 
made. After this, he directed their attention to the 
miserable condition of those whom God had not thus 
visited, and proposed that, from a sense of the value 
of the Gospel and a desire for its dissemination, they 
should form a Tahitian Missionary Society, to aid 
the London Society in sending the Gospel to the 
heathen. " The people of Africa," said he, " have 
already done so ; for, though like us, they have no 
money, they have given of their sheep, and other 
property. Let us also give of the produce of our 
islands — pigs, or arrow-root, or cocoanut oil. Yet it 
must be voluntary ; let it not be by compulsion. He 
that desires the word of God to grow where it has 
been planted, and to be conveyed to countries wretched 
as ours was before it was brought to us, will contribute 
freely and liberally to promote its extension. He who 
is unacquainted with its influence, and insensible to 
its claims, will not, perhaps, exert himself in this 
work. So let it be. Let him not be reproved ; 
neither let the chiefs in general, nor his superiors, 
be angry with him on that account." At the close 
of his address, Pomare desired those who approved 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 167 

of his proposal to lift up their right hands. Two or 
three thousand hands were instantly raised, presenting 
a spectacle at once new and affecting. The con- 
stitution of the Society, previously prepared by the 
missionaries, was then read ; a treasurer and secre- 
taries were chosen, and the people retired to their 
dwellings with excited and happy feelings. 

In the year 1817, seven missionaries from Eng- 
land, with their wives, landed at Eimeo. These 
were Messrs. Orsmond, Bourne, Darling, Piatt, Wil- 
liams, Threlkeld, and Barff. The arrival of so 
large a reinforcement, enabled the missionaries to 
make arrangements for re-occupying their original 
station in Tahiti, and also for establishing a mission 
in the Society Islands. As the missionaries were 
engaged in building a ship for the purpose of increas- 
ing the intercourse between Port Jackson and the 
islands, it was thought desirable that no station 
should be commenced in the Society or Leeward 
Islands, till the vessel was completed, and the books 
prepared for the press were printed. Early in the 
year 1818, however, two of the missionaries, Messrs. 
Wilson and Darling, removed to Tahiti, and com- 
menced their labors near the place from which the 
missionaries had been obliged to fly in 1809. New 
stations were also commenced in three other districts 
on the island of Tahiti. Messrs. Bicknell and Tessier 
removed to Papara, and Messrs. Crook and Bourne to 
Papaoa, in the district of Faa. At the request of 
Utami, the chief of the district of Atehuru, Mr. Dar- 



168 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

ling subsequently commenced a mission at Bunaauia, 
or Burder's Point. Soon after the printing was 
finished, four of the missionaries, Messrs. Davies, 
Ellis, Williams, and Orsmond, with their wives, 
removed from Eimeo to Huahine, taking with them 
the printing press. Mr. Ellis who had resided at 
Eimeo more than a year, and had been constantly in 
circumstances fitted to test the character and disposi- 
tion of the natives, bears the most honorable testimony 
to their honesty, kindness, and hospitality. The 
inhabitants of one district were in the habit of bring- 
ing to his family a present of bread-fruit and other 
articles of food every week. " We reposed/' says 
Mr. Ellis, " the most entire confidence in the people, 
and had no reason to regret even the exposure of our 
property. We were robbed by an English servant, 
whom we had taken from Port Jackson, of linen and 
clothing ; but although we had no lock, and for a 
long time no bolt, on our door, (which, when fastened, 
a native could at any time have opened by putting his 
hand through the sticks and pushing back the bolt,) 
and though sometimes the door was left open all night, 
yet we do not know that a single article was stolen 
from us by the natives, during the eighteen months 
we resided among them." 

The Directors of the Missionary Society, desirous 
of introducing a regular system of industry among 
the islanders, which would tend to raise them to the 
station of a civilized and Christian nation, sent to the 
South Sea Islands Mr. Gyles, a gentleman well 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 169 

acquainted with the culture of the cane and the man- 
ufacture of sugar, who arrived at Tahiti in August, 
1818. It was hoped that he would be able to con- 
vince the king and chiefs, not only of the practicabil- 
ity of making sugar, but also of its utility, and that 
when they had been instructed in the process of boil- 
ing, they would become capable of carrying it on by 
themselves. These hopes were frustrated, however, 
by the reports of an unprincipled Captain, who visited 
Tahiti for the purposes of commerce. He told the 
king, that should the attempt to manufacture sugar 
succeed, individuals from other countries would estab- 
lish themselves in the islands, and with an armed force 
destroy the inhabitants or reduce them to slavery. 
This malicious slander produced so strong an effect 
on the mind of Pomare that he declined rendering 
any assistance in the work, and informed the mission- 
aries that, apprehensive of unfavorable results from 
the reports in circulation, he could not consent to the 
manufacture of sugar, except on a very limited scale. 
The project was accordingly abandoned, and Mr. 
Gyles soon after removed to New South Wales, and 
subsequently returned to England. 

While these attempts were making to cultivate 
habits of industry among the natives, the more imme- 
diate objects of the mission were not forgotten. The 
schools were prosperous, and the number of the 
chapels in Tahiti and Eimeo rapidly increased. The 
inhabitants of each district had their fare burc or 
house of prayer, in which they were accustomed to 



170 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

assemble twice on the Sabbath and once during the 
week, for the reading of the Scriptures and for 
prayer. 

Pomare had for a long time been engaged in 
preparing materials and erecting at Papaoa on the 
island of Tahiti a chapel which greatly exceeded in 
size any other ever built in the Islands. It was seven 
hundred and twelve feet in length and fifty-four in 
width. The roof was supported by thirty-six massive 
pillars of the bread-fruit tree, and the sides by two 
hundred and eighty smaller ones. The walls were 
composed of boards fixed perpendicularly in square 
sleepers, and were either smoothed with a plane or 
polished by rubbing with coral and sand. The build- 
ing contained one hundred and thirty-three windows, 
and twenty-nine doors. The interior of the edifice 
presented a singular appearance. In accordance with 
the native custom, the floor was covered with long 
grass, and the area was filled with plain but substan- 
tial benches. The rafters were bound with braided 
cord, colored in native dyes, or covered with white 
matting, the ends of which hung down several feet 
from the upper part of the rafter, and terminated in a 
broad fringe. The chapel contained three pulpits, 
two hundred and sixty feet apart, but without any 
partition between. It was called the Royal Mission 
Chapel, and was first opened for divine service on the 
11th of May, 1819. A sermon was preached at the 
same time in each pulpit to an audience of more than 
two thousand hearers. The encampment of the mul- 



* 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 171 

titudes extended along the beach on each side of the 
chapel to the distance of four miles. A long aisle 
extended from one end of the chapel to the other, 
crossed in an oblique direction by a stream of water 
five or six feet wide. It was a natural water-course 
from the mountains to the sea, which could not be 
directed from its channel without great labor, and 
therefore it had been suffered to flow on without 
interruption. One end of the building was used for 
divine service every Sabbath. The other parts were 
unoccupied except at the annual meetings of the 
Tahitian Missionary Society, or on other occasions 
when large national assemblies were convened. The 
plan of so large a place of worship originated entirely 
with the king, and the chapel was erected by the 
united efforts of the chiefs and people of Tahiti and 
Eimeo. When Pomare was asked why he built so 
large a house, he inquired " Whether Solomon was 
not a good king, and whether he did not build a 
house for Jehovah superior to every edifice in Judea 
or in the surrounding countries ? " 

The Royal Mission Chapel, like all the other build- 
ings of this kind in the South Sea Islands, was not 
supplied with glass windows, or a bell. As some 
contrivance, however, was necessary in order to 
induce the people to assemble for public worship at 
any regular time, various substitutes for a bell, 
some of them no less singular than ingenious, were 
devised. At Eimeo a thick hoop of iron, suspended 
by a rope of twisted bark, and struck with an iron bolt, 



172 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

was used instead of a bell. At Huahine a square bar 
of iron was suspended from a cocoanut tree by a cord, 
and struck with a hard stone. At Raiatea a frame 
was erected, consisting of two upright posts, and a 
cross-piece at top, from the centre of which a solid 
piece of cast iron three or four feet long, and six or 
eight inches square, with a hole through one end, was 
suspended. This also was struck with a stone. At 
Borabora the only substitute for a bell, for a long time 
after the missionaries settled on the island, was a 
carpenter's broad-axe. The handle was taken out, 
a string passed through the eye, and when the hour 
arrived for public worship, a boy went through the 
settlement holding it by the string in one hand, and 
striking it with a stone which he held in the other. 
As there were no clocks, the time of assembling was 
regulated by the situation of the sun. For school, 
the bar of iron was struck but once, a short time 
before it commenced. For public worship, it was 
struck twice, once about fifteen minutes before the 
service began, and again immediately preceding the 
commencement of the exercises. It is worthy of 
remark that, rude and indifferent as were the means 
of giving public notice of a meeting, the people 
usually assembled soon after the ringing of the first 
bell, and were always ready for the service before 
the time to commence it had arrived. 

The year 1819 was distinguished not only by the 
erection of the Royal Mission Chapel, but by the first 
public baptism that took place in the Islands. Pomare 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 173 

was the first to whom that rite was administered. 
The ceremony was performed on Sabbath, the 6th of 
June, in the new chapel, in the presence of 4,000 or 
5,000 people. The exercises were conducted by 
Messrs Bicknell and Henry, two missionaries who 
had arrived in the Duff more than twenty-two years 
before. Their feelings on this occasion must have 
been those of mingled hope and fear ; hope that the 
king was indeed a Christian, and fear lest his profes- 
sion should consist in an external observance, while 
his heart remained unaffected. This public profes- 
sion of religion by Pomare was followed by the subse- 
quent baptism of many of the converts. 

As the people had now embraced Christianity, they 
were desirous that their civil and judicial proceedings 
should be in accordance with the principles of the 
Christian religion. They therefore applied to the 
missionaries for direction in regard to the means to 
be adopted for the accomplishment of this object. 
Their teachers explained to them the general prin- 
ciples of the Scriptures, and at the request of Pomare 
assisted the king and chiefs in framing a code of 
laws containing eighteen articles. The 13th of May, 
1819, was appointed for the promulgation of the new 
laws, and, as the anniversary of the Tahitian Mission- 
ary Society was held at the same time, a large number 
of people from Tahiti and Eimeo were present. At 
the request of the king, the meeting was opened with 
prayer by Mr. Crook. The laws were read and ex- 
plained by Pomare, who afterwards asked the chiefs 



174 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

if they assented to them. They replied, " We 
heartily agree to them." Then addressing the people, 
the king desired them if they approved of the laws 
to signify it by holding up their right hands. Thou- 
sands of arms were immediately raised. All the 
articles having been thus accepted, the meeting was 
closed with prayer by Mr. Henry. The laws were 
subsequently printed on a large sheet of paper, and 
not only sent to every chief and magistrate throughout 
the Islands, but posted up in most of the public 
places. After the promulgation of the new laws, 
two or three slight insurrections occurred, but they 
were easily quelled. Though there always have been 
many in Tahiti, as in all the other Islands, to whom 
the restraints of the laws are irksome, and who if 
opportunity should offer would willingly annul them, 
there has been no recent attempt to abrogate them, 
and their authority seems now firmly established. 

In the islands of Tahiti and Eimeo, Christian 
churches were formed early in 1820, which, though 
small at first, gradually increased in numbers. 

In the course of the same year, the Mission in the 
Windward Islands sustained a heavy bereavement in 
the death of Messrs. Bicknell and Tessier. The 
former was one of the first missionaries who arrived 
at Tahiti, in 1796, and for upwards of twenty years 
had labored with patient diligence, in hope of an 
abundant harvest, which he was permitted to reap 
before his death. After the decease of Messrs. Bick- 
nell and Tessier, the station at Tahiti remained ua- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 175 

occupied for some months, but was supplied near the 
close of this year by Mr. Davies, who removed from 
Huahine. 

An interesting change had now taken place in the 
Georgian Islands, and the effects of the Christian 
religion were becoming more and more apparent. 
The appearance of the missionary station at Burder's 
Point, in Tahiti, is thus described by Mr. Ellis, who 
visited it in April, 1821. " Newly planted gardens 
and enclosures appeared in every direction ; several 
good houses were finished ; some were plastered and 
thatched, while only the frame of others was com- 
pleted. A school-house and chapel had been erected. 
The latter was neatly finished with a gallery, the first 
built in the South Sea Islands. The congregation 
on the Sabbath consisted of about five hundred, who 
were generally attentive. Here, as in other stations, 
the singing forms an interesting part of the worship. 
The female voices are usually clear and distinct, but 
those of the men rather inclined to harshness." 

With the introduction of Christianity into the 
Georgian Islands, a striking change took place in 
the habits of the natives. The females, who had 
until this time been treated with contempt or cruelty, 
and regarded as fit only for the most menial offices, 
now began to assume their proper station in society. 
Before their reception of the Gospel, they considered 
it degrading to follow any of the customs of foreigners, 
and thinking their own loose mode of dress preferable 
to the European, they had no inducement to learn 



176 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the use of the needle. The wives of the missionaries 
had long tried, without success, to teach them needle- 
work, but soon after they embraced Christianity they 
became anxious to adopt the style of dress worn by 
their teachers, and many of them expressed not only 
a willingness but a desire to be taught to sew. The 
first garment in general use among the converted 
females was a long loose dress reaching to the feet, 
fastened round the neck by a collar, and confined 
with a button. The sleeves were loose, buttoned at 
the wrists. Outside of this, they wore the pareu, 
which was wound around the waist and reached 
below the knee. The desire for new dresses soon 
extended to all classes, and in a short time nearly all 
the females were dressed in a becoming garment of 
European cloth. Shoes, hats, and bonnets were added 
in succession, so that the assemblies on the Sabbath 
assumed quite a civilized appearance. 

The regard for the Sabbath, and the sacredness 
with which it was observed by the natives, will appear 
by a reference to the journals of two naval officers, 
who visited Tahiti in 1822. One of them, after 
mentioning that he went to the Islands prejudiced 
against the missionaries, and skeptical in regard to 
the beneficial results of their labors, says that his 
visit entirely removed both. It was Friday when the 
vessel arrived. The ship was soon thronged with 
natives, who offered fowls, fruit, and vegetables for 
sale. On the following day the traffic was continued, 
but on the third, to the astonishment of all on board, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 177 

no individual came near the ship. The reason after- 
ward assigned was, that it was the Sabbath. On 
Monday the intercourse was resumed again as briskly 
as before. 

The other testimony is that of Captain Gambier, 
of the British ship Dauntless. In reference to the 
observance of the Sabbath among the young, he says, 
" The silence, the order preserved, the devotion and 
attention paid to the subject, surprised and pleased 
me beyond measure. Children are seen bringing 
their aged parents to the church, that they may par- 
take of the pleasure they derive from the explanation 
of the Bible." This testimony of one who acknowl- 
edges that " he had never felt any interest in the 
labors of missionaries, and was not only not prepos- 
sessed in favor of them, but in a measure suspicious 
of their reports," is certainly a strong one. 

Notwithstanding the unsuccessful efforts of Mr. 
Gyles, the Directors of the Missionary Society were 
not discouraged in their endeavors to advance the 
temporal prosperity of the natives. They considered 
the promotion of industry and civil improvement as 
important objects, and in order to accomplish them, 
two artisans, Messrs. Blossom and Armitage, were 
sent to the South Seas, in 1821. The former was 
a carpenter, and the latter a native of Manchester, 
who had been overseer of an extensive cotton manu- 
factory. His object was to teach the natives to spin 
and weave the cotton raised in their gardens. It has 
been mentioned that the cotton plant is indigenous 
12 



ITS SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

in most of the Islands, and it was known that with 
but little attention it might be cultivated to almost 
any extent. As cotton cloth was an article in great 
demand, it was supposed that the manufacture of it 
might be successfully introduced. In September, 
1821, Messrs. Armitage and Blossom reached Tahiti. 
Finding that Eimeo furnished greater facilities than 
Tahiti for their operations, they soon afterwards 
established a factory at that island. Like every new 
undertaking, the factory had to contend with great 
difficulties, arising principally from the indolence of 
the natives and their impatience of control. These 
obstacles, however, were at length overcome, and the 
natives became fully convinced that they could manu- 
facture cloth, and were willing to make the necessary 
exertions. Mr. Armitage taught them to card the 
cotton, and Mrs. A. instructed them in spinning. 
Their first attempts, as might have been expected, 
were exceedingly awkward, but when a piece of cloth 
fifty yards in length was completed, the natives con- 
sidered themselves repaid for all their labor. The 
females soon learned to spin yarn, and some of the 
boys were taught to make very good cloth. Mr. 
Armitage was also able to dye the cloth, and thus 
to increase its value by furnishing different patterns 
and colors. Reading lessons and texts of Scripture 
were affixed to the walls, and to different parts of 
the factory, so that while the hands were employed 
in spinning or weaving, the mind and heart might 
also be improved. The native carpenters have learned 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 179 

to make lathes, looms, and spinning-wheels, which, 
though rude, are found very useful. The experi- 
ment has already succeeded beyond what was antici- 
pated, and it is believed that the efforts made to 
introduce the wearing of cloth will be highly advan- 
tageous to the natives. 



CHAPTER IX. 

SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL IN THE GEORGIAN ISLANDS 

GENERAL RESULTS. 

Introduction of the Gospel into Tabuaemanu — Notice of Pomare II. — 
Coronation of Pomare III. — South Sea Academy — Death of the 
young King— His successor — Testimony of Mr. Stewart and of 
Captain Waldegrave — Civil war — Restoration of Peace — Spirit of 
inquiry — Revival of religion — Departure of Mr. Nott — Letter from 
the Missionaries— Attempts to introduce the Catholic religion at 
Tahiti — Testimony of Captain Hervey. 

While the incidents which have been narrated in 
the preceding Chapter were occurring at Tahiti and 
Eimeo, events equally interesting were taking place 
at Tabuaemanu, another of the Georgian Islands. 
The inhabitants of this island, having heard that the 
people of Huahine had destroyed their idols and 
become worshippers of Jehovah, resolved that they 
would do the same. They understood, however, the 
doctrines and spirit of Christianity very imperfectly, 
and but little was known of their moral condition 
until the year 1818, when Mr. Davies, while on a 
voyage to Tahiti, was driven out of his course and 
obliged to take shelter at Tabuaemanu. During his 



i 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 181 

stay of nine weeks on the island, Mr. Davies made 
unwearied exertions to communicate to the natives a 
knowledge of the way of salvation, and on his depar- 
ture appointed two of the best informed among them 
to act as teachers to the rest. In 1819, nearly all 
the inhabitants of this island, with their chief, removed 
to Huahine for the purpose of receiving religious 
instruction. With a few exceptions they were regu- 
lar in their attendance on divine worship, and at the 
schools, and a number of them became candidates 
for baptism. In the following year they returned to 
their own island; but the impressions which had been 
made on their minds during their residence at Hua- 
hine were not effaced, and their subsequent conduct 
proved that they had not heard the Gospel in vain. 

Mr. BarfF visited this island in 1822, and found the 
inhabitants living together in great harmony, and 
diligently endeavoring to improve in knowledge. 
Those who had been received while at Huahine, as 
candidates for baptism, continued to act consistently 
with their profession, and frequently met together to 
exhort each other to love and good works. During 
his stay at Tabuaemanu, Mr. Barff baptized fifty-four 
adults, and thirty children. Two native teachers 
from the church at Huahine were appointed to labor 
among them, and on the departure of Mr. Barff nearly 
all the inhabitants placed themselves under their in- 
struction. In 1823, a church of thirty-one members 
was formed at this station, to which thirty-five more 
were added in 1825. In 1833, Mr. Barff found the 



182 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

outward appearance of the settlement greatly im- 
proved by the erection of houses built after the Euro- 
pean manner, with neat and well cultivated gardens. 
The judicious labors of the native teachers had been 
followed w r ith the divine blessing, and order, harmony, 
and industry prevailed. A new chapel had also been 
built, and dedicated to the w r orship of God. In 1836, 
the church had increased to ninety members, and 
there were in the school seventy-six children. All 
the adults were under instruction, and most of them 
had learned to read the Scriptures. 

Near the close of the year 1821, the Mission in 
the Georgian Islands experienced a heavy bereave- 
ment in the decease of the king Pomare II. His 
disease was a dropsical complaint to which he had 
long been subject. A short account of his personal 
appearance and character will, we think, be accepta- 
ble to our readers. He was the son of Pomare and 
Idia, and was originally called Otoo or Otu. He 
was upwards of six feet high, well built, and of a 
commanding appearance. His head was generally 
bent forward, and he seldom walked erect. His com- 
plexion was tawny, but not dark. His countenance, 
usually heavy, was indicative of his disposition. He 
was indolent in his habits, but inquisitive, attentive, 
and thoughtful. In his inquiries, he was patient and 
laborious, and his questions often showed a great 
degree of ingenuity. Though he was not fond of 
society, his humor made him a pleasant companion. 
In mental application, Pomare exceeded every other 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 183 

Tahitian. Had he enjoyed the advantages of a libe- 
ral education, and been free from practices which 
seriously retarded his progress, it is probable that the 
development of his intellect would have shown that it 
was of a very high order. From the early visiters to 
Tahiti, Pomare had beard much of king George, 
and his constant desire seemed to be to make the 
British Sovereign his model. He was one day walk- 
ing with great dignity in the company of the mission- 
aries, when he suddenly stopped and inquired, " Does 
king George walk in this way ? " His desire to learn 
to read and write has already been mentioned, and 
also the zeal with which he applied himself to the 
work, so difficult at his age, of acquiring these arts. 
He was particularly fond of writing, and learned to 
use the pen with great facility. In 1807, he wrote 
a letter to the Missionary Society, which was trans- 
lated by the missionaries. He then copied the trans- 
lation, and both, subscribed by himself, were sent to 
London. The letter was signed, " Pomare, King of 
Tahiti, " and directed to " My Friends, the Mission- 
ary Society, London. " Pomare kept a regular jour- 
nal, and wrote down every text of Scripture that he 
heard. After the introduction of writing among the 
people, he maintained an extensive correspondence. 
He prepared the first code of laws for his kingdom, 
transcribed them in a fair hand, and promulgated 
them with his own voice. To the missionaries he 
rendered very important aid in the translation of the 
Scriptures, and copied out many portions before they 



184 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

were printed. As a ruler he was deliberate and 
cautious, and most of his measures had more refer- 
ence to their ultimate influence than to their imme- 
diate effect. His views, however, were in many 
respects contracted, and he was easily imposed on by 
bold, and heedless advisers. He was also inclined to 
severity, and extremely jealous of his authority. But 
notwithstanding these faults, he was universally re- 
spected and beloved, not only by his own family but 
by the people and the chiefs. 

As Pomare was the first convert to Christianity, 
he was obliged to encounter persecution ; but this he 
bore with mildness and firmness, entreating those 
who reviled to examine for themselves. It was 
through his influence that idolatry was renounced in 
Raiatea and Huahine, and he was constant and per- 
severing in his endeavors to persuade the chiefs of 
other islands to embrace Christianity. 

During the latter part of his life, Pomare's conduct 
was in some respects exceptionable. He had con- 
tracted a fondness for spirituous liquor, and often used 
it to excess. This habit brought a stain upon his 
character, and cast a gloom over his mind from 
which he never recovered. The missionaries used 
every means in their power to reclaim him, but with- 
out success. There was, however, much in the 
character of Pomare which endeared him to the mis- 
sionaries. The uniform kindness with which he 
treated them, the aid which he afforded them in the 
introduction of the new religion, and his unwavering 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 185 

adherence, amidst the greatest reproach, to the pro- 
fession of his faith in Christianity, secured for him 
their esteem. In his last illness, he was visited by 
one of the missionaries, who reminded him of the 
number and magnitude of his sins, and directed him 
to Jesus Christ for pardon. His reply was, " Jesus 
Christ alone," and shortly afterwards he expired. 

Pomare was succeeded in the government by his 
son Pomare III., who was crowned king on the 21st 
of April, 1824. In order that the people might wit- 
ness the ceremonies on this occasion, a stone plat- 
form sixty feet square was erected, upon which was 
another smaller platform, where the coronation was 
to take place. The procession was preceded by two 
native girls who strewed the path with flowers. 
Mahine, the chief of Huahine, nominally one of the 
judges of Tahiti, carried a large Bible, and was 
attended by the deputation from the Missionary So- 
ciety, who were then at Tahiti, and by the resident 
missionaries. The young king, seated on a chair, 
was borne by four youthful chieftains, while an equal 
number supported a canopy over his head. When 
they reached the platform, the king was seated in the 
coronation chair, and before him was a table on 
which the crown, the Bible, and the code of laws 
were placed. As the young king was only four years 
of age, and of course unable to speak for himself, 
Mr. Nott answered for him. When he was asked if 
he promised to govern the people with justice and 
mercy, agreeably to the laws of God, Mr. Nott placed 



186 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the crown on his head, and pronounced a benedic- 
tion on the young ruler. Mr. Darling then presented 
him with a Bible, accompanying the present with a 
suitable address. Immediately after the close of this 
ceremony, a herald proclaimed pardon to all who 
were under the sentence of the law. Every exile 
was invited to return, and all were exhorted to 
become good members of society. The assembly 
then repaired to the Royal Mission Chapel, where 
divine service was performed, and the ceremony con- 
cluded. This was the first Christian coronation in 
the South Sea Islands. Pomare was soon afterwards 
placed at the South Sea Academy * under the care 
of Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond, for the purpose of receiv- 
ing with the children of the missionaries a systematic 
education. But the hopes of his parents and friends 
respecting him were soon blasted. He was attacked 
in December, 1826, with a disease which soon termi- 
nated in death. 

A daughter of Pomare II. about sixteen years of 
age, succeeded to the government. She was after- 
wards married to a young chief of Tahaa, to whom 

* The South Sea Academy was established in March, 1824, 
at Eimeo by the Deputation from the Missionary Society. 
"Its primary design was to furnish a suitable, and so far as 
circumstances would permit, a liberal education to the children 
of the missionaries ; such an education as is calculated to pre- 
pare them to fill useful situations in future life. Native children 
also of piety and talent had access to its advantages, and it was 
designed as preparatory to a seminary for training native pas- 
tors to fill different stations in the South Sea Islands," 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 187 

her father had given his own name, so that Pomare is 
still the regal name. 

For several years from this time, the facts which 
can be gathered from the reports of the missionaries 
respecting the progress of the Gospel in these islands, 
possess but little interest. It would seem, however, 
that there was among the natives a gradual advance 
in civilization, and in the acquisition of religious 
knowledge. We shall introduce here the testimony 
of one of the Chaplains of the United States' Navy, 
and of the Commander of a British man-of-war. 

In 1829, nineteen years after the natives became 
Christians, the Rev. Mr. Stewart visited the Georgian 
Islands, as Chaplain of the United States' Frigate 
Vincennes. After giving an account of the schools, 
and the public services on the Sabbath, he adds, " A 
single glance around was sufficient to convince the 
most skeptical observer of the success and benefit of 
missions to the heathen ; for it could not be made 
without meeting the plainest demonstration, that such 
can be rescued from all the rudeness and wildness of 
their original condition, can be brought to a state of 
cleanliness and modesty in their personal appearance, 
can be taught to read and write ; for many, besides 
the intelligent and familiar use of the Scriptures ancj 
their hymn-book, took notes in pencil of the sermon 
delivered ; in a word can be transformed into all that 
civilization and Christianity vouchsafes to man."* 

* Stewart's Journal, ii. 26. 



188 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

In April, 1830, Tahiti and Eimeo were visited by 
Captain Waldegrave of the Seringapatam. With 
reference to the prosperity of the people, he says, 
" At both these islands we had the pleasure of finding 
every missionary at his post, and of visiting every 
school, and entering every church in these islands. 
I can truly state that what I witnessed there, gave me, 
and every officer who had the opportunity of seeing 
it, the most sincere gratification. The first Sunday 
after our arrival I visited the school at half past six 
o'clock in the morning, and I there had the pleasure 
of seeing one hundred and seventeen children of both 
sexes at their lessons, under the superintendence of 
Mr. Pritchard. The school continued for one hour, 
and I never saw children more attentive, or more 
anxious, apparently, to learn, or pay more respect to 
their teachers. In the forenoon, I attended divine 
service in the chapel, which I had the pleasure of 
seeing filled with natives ; in the afternoon, also, I 
went again to the chapel, which was exceedingly well 
attended, and I must say that I never saw congrega- 
tions more attentive, and apparently more impelled by 
Christian motives, than those with whom I united in 
divine worship on that day. I must also state, that as 
far as I had an opportunity of observing the conduct 
of the natives, it was decorous and respectful, and 
quite in accordance with what we should wish and 
expect to see in a Christian country. " * 

* London Missionary Chronicle, June, 1833. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 189 

In the commencement of the year 1833, the inhab- 
itants of Tahiti were involved in civil war. It was 
caused by the marriage of the queen of Tahiti to a 
second husband, under circumstances which were sup- 
posed by many to be contrary to law. The queen had 
been for several years separated from her former hus- 
band, who resided at Tahaa, and was considered as 
the leader of the opposing party in that island. In the 
month of December previous, a national assembly of 
the magistrates of Tahiti was convened, for the pur- 
pose of deliberating on the proposed marriage of the 
queen. The question was submitted to the assembly by 
one of the chief judges, and after much discussion the 
meeting was broken up under the general impression 
that all concurred in the proposal. The marriage 
was soon after publicly celebrated. When the people 
of Eimeo heard that the marriage had taken place, a 
large number of them went over to Tahiti to protest 
against it, and insisted on bringing to trial Paofai, 
the judge who had proposed it, and as they supposed 
induced the people to agree to it. They were told 
that the nation had given its sanction to the union 
before the marriage took place, but as they still 
insisted on bringing the chief judge to trial, they were 
themselves impeached, tried, pronounced guilty of 
disaffection to the government, and sentenced to 
public labor. 

For some time the missionaries hoped that the 
affair would be terminated without bloodshed, but the 
tranquillity of the island was destroyed, and the excited 



190 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

feelings of the natives did not permit them to be 
swayed by argument. A battle was fought between 
the two parties, which resulted in the defeat of the 
insurgents. 

The cause of this war as well as of many other evils 
was the increased quantity of ardent spirits brought 
into the Islands. Intemperance had become common 
to an alarming extent, but by the efforts of the mission- 
aries the use of spirituous liquors was considerably 
diminished. Peace was at length restored to the 
islands, and the missionaries permitted to resume 
their labors which had for a time been interrupted. 

In August, 1834, at a meeting of the principal men 
of Tahiti and Eimeo, it was proposed by the queen 
and agreed to by all parties, that in future all should 
attend the house of God on the Sabbath, and that the 
church members and all the children should attend 
school. From that time public service on the Sabbath 
was crowded, and the schools well attended. 

In the latter part of the summer of 1835, the hearts 
of the missionaries were greatly encouraged by a spirit 
of inquiry which seemed to be awakened among the 
people. Several who had until a short time previous 
evinced an utter indifference to the subject of religion, 
came forward expressing repentance for their sins. 
At first this number was small, but in December it 
increased greatly, and the people came in companies 
of ten, twenty, and thirty at a time to inquire what 
they must do to be saved. " These," says one of the 
missionaries, "would give me no rest, but pressed me 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 191 

with importunity at all times in the day, morning, 
noon, and night ; and often, after I had been spending 
a considerable time with them, instructing, exhorting, 
and examining them, preparatory to baptism and com- 
munion with the church, they would still follow me 
home, as if unwilling to attend to any other subject." 
Some of these inquirers were wild men and women 
from the mountains, whom the grace of God had 
made tame and tractable. 

Many of the members of the church were accustomed 
to attend the meetings for inquirers, and those who 
were old and infirm were often seen creeping along 
the beach with tottering steps, and leaning on a staff 
as they approached the chapel. Among those who 
desired to be admitted to church fellowship were the 
queen, her husband, and her mother. 

At Papara also, where Mr. Davies was stationed, 
the same interest was exhibited, and many were hope- 
fully converted. 

In December of this year, the translation of the 
Scriptures into the Tahitian language was completed. 
As it was thought advisable that the translation should 
be printed in London, and as the health of Mr. Nott 
was such as to make a voyage desirable, he deter- 
mined to visit England, and if possible to accomplish 
the printing of the Scriptures in Tahitian. When 
it was made known to the people that Mr. Nott was 
about to leave them, in order to forward the printing 
of the Scriptures in their own language, they desired 
to know why he could not send the copy of the 



192 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Scriptures to England to be printed, without going 
himself. " To get the Word of God printed," they 
said, " is a very good thing, but can it not be done 
without your leaving us?" " You are," said they, 
" our teacher, our spiritual father, and the guide of 
the Royal Family also, and how can we do without 
you?" Notwithstanding these objections, Mr. and 
Mrs. Nott sailed from Tahiti, and in June, 1836, 
arrived in London. In February, 1838, three thou- 
sand Bibles and Testaments had been printed in 
Tahitian, and Mr. Nott returned to the Islands. 

In a letter from the missionaries who were sent to 
the Navigators' Islands, dated at Tahiti April 22d, 
1836, they remark, " As regards Tahiti, after all 
defection, and deduction on other grounds, we have 
seen and heard much that cheers us, and calls upon 
us to thank God, and take courage. That there are 
nearly two thousand natives in church fellowship ; 
that two thirds of the people can read ; that a great 
number of them have learned to write ; and that the 
schools and chapels are well attended; these are 
broad, significant, and encouraging facts. We cannot 
describe the feelings with which we witnessed the 
native services on the Sabbath day. The morning 
service was attended by nearly one thousand people, 
and we had proof, at a subsequent examination, that 
many of them are discriminating, and not forgetful 
hearers of the word." * 

* London Missionary Chronicle, March, 1837. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 193 

In the fall of 1836, an attempt was made by the 
Catholics to introduce their religion into the Georgian 
Islands. On the 21st of November, a Mr. William 
Hamilton in a small schooner from Gambier's Island, 
where the Pope has a missionary establishment, 
anchored at Tautira, a retired place on the eastern 
side of Tahiti, about thirty miles from the princi- 
pal port, and landed three Catholics, two priests 
and a carpenter. The only port of importance on 
the island is Wilke's Harbor, the residence of the 
queen and the principal chiefs. Aware that the 
government would not be in favor of their proposed 
operations, the Catholics as well as the Captain pre- 
ferred to land at a less frequented port. After passing 
round the island and surveying it attentively, they 
arrived at Wilke's Harbor, where they were received 
and entertained by Mr. Moerenhaut, the American 
Consul, who is himself a Catholic. Although the 
laws of Tahiti expressly forbid any foreigner to re- 
main on the island without permission from the queen 
and governors, Mr. Moerenhaut promised to protect 
the Catholics as long as they wished to stay. On 
the 26th of November, the priests, accompanied by the 
Consul, had an interview with the queen, at which Mr. 
Pritchard, one of the resident missionaries, was pre- 
sent by request of Her Majesty, to act as interpreter. 

The priests, after telling the queen that all the land 

was to be hers, and that they had only come to teach 

the Word of God, presented her with a silk shawl. 

They also offered her some gold, hoping by this 

13 



194 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

means to induce her to agree to their proposals. 
But the queen rejected the money, and desired that 
the laws might be read. The priests, however, re- 
fused to hear them, and finding that there was no 
hope of success with the queen, they hastily took 
their departure. A messenger was immediately 
despatched by order of Her Majesty requesting them 
not to repeat their visit, and informing them that she 
would not allow them to remain in Tahiti. She also 
requested Mr. Pritchard to send the American Consul 
a copy of the laws, and to inform him of her pleasure 
respecting the foreigners. In a letter addressed to 
the priests, she charged them not to remain on the 
island. " It is not agreeable to myself or the gov- 
ernors," said she, " that you should remain. Peace 
be with you in going away." The reason assigned 
by the queen for her unwillingness to receive the 
Catholics was, that the people had already mis- 
sionaries of their own, by whom they had all been 
instructed. 

On the 12th of December, the schooner in which 
the foreigners came being ready for sea, the queen 
wrote a second letter to them, and repeated her desire 
that they should immediately leave the island. But 
the priests having been in the meanwhile furnished 
by the American Consul with a house, locked them- 
selves in, and refused entrance to any one. The 
vessel was therefore detained twenty-four hours, and 
the house surrounded by officers of the queen waiting 
for the priests to come out. The cottage being very 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 195 

low, the officers at last lifted up the thatch, and three 
of the natives went over the wall, unlocked the door, 
led out the priests, and by the assistance of the 
officers, put them and their property on board the 
vessel, which immediately left the island. 

The next day the Consul addressed a letter to the 
queen, complaining " that his consulate had been 
broken open, that the Catholics under his protection 
had been taken away, that the American flag had 
been insulted, and that he should not hoist it again 
until a man-of-war should arrive to reinstate him in 
his office/ 5 

In January, 1837, a second attempt was made by 
the Catholics to establish their religion in Tahiti. 
On the 27th of that month, the American Brig 
Columbo, of Boston, commanded by Captain Wil- 
liams, brought to that island two priests. Having 
failed to accomplish their object on their first visit, 
the Catholics had formed a new plan to introduce 
their religion, and for this purpose had secured the 
co-operation of Captain Williams. As soon as the 
Columbo came to anchor, the government sent a 
letter to the Captain, containing a copy of the laws, 
and calling his special attention to the article re- 
specting the landing of passengers. On the reception 
of this letter, the Captain immediately wrote to the 
queen, requesting permission to land his passengers, 
and the first application having been refused, repeated 
his request, stating that the priests were bound to 
Valparaiso, and that they only wished to stop at 



196 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Tahiti for a few days, till they could find a conveyance 
to that port. He also stated that if the queen did 
not allow the priests to land at Tahiti, he should be 
obliged to carry them to India, whither he himself 
was bound. But the queen still withheld her assent. 
A third letter was then addressed to her by Captain 
Williams, in which he stated that if she did not give 
him permission to land his passengers by the 31st of 
January, he should then land them without permis- 
sion, and that if she forced them on board again, he 
should remain at anchor and charge her $50 a day 
for his vessel, and that if he was compelled to take 
them to Valparaiso he should demand from Her 
Majesty by the first man-of-war the sum of $2,000 
for the injury done to his voyage in going so much 
out of his way. Many threats were used, but all in 
vain. The queen and governors were, however, much 
perplexed, and addressed a letter to the American 
Consul requesting him to interfere and send away 
the Brig. To this the Consul replied that he should 
not comply with her request, but should defend the 
proceedings of the Captain against the government. 

On the morning of the 31st of January, Captain 
Williams ordered the priests to be set on shore. The 
natives, by command of the queen, waded into the 
water to prevent the boat from landing, but offered 
no violence. The Captain, perceiving that all further 
attempts would be in vain, directed that his boat 
should return to the vessel, and the Brig soon after 
sailed, carrying away the priests. Both the Consul 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 197 

and the Captain were greatly enraged, and the latter, 
on leaving Tahiti, threatened to send immediately 
from Valparaiso a man-of-war to enforce by violent 
measures his demand of $2,000 from the queen. 

In the investigations connected with this trans- 
action, a fact was ascertained which plainly showed 
the intention of the priests to remain at Tahiti, and 
not to proceed to Valparaiso as the Captain had 
stated. It appeared that at Gambier's Island, where 
they had stopped before going to Tahiti, there was 
a French vessel bound direct to Valparaiso, on board 
of which, had the priests desired it, they might have 
taken a passage. Another circumstance which con- 
firmed the belief that the Catholics designed to estab- 
lish themselves in Tahiti, was the statement of the 
second officer of the Columbo to Mr. Pritchard, one 
of the missionaries. He said that the Brig was 
bound " direct to Valparaiso" and added that there 
were on board two Catholic priests, whom, if not 
allowed to land at Tahiti, the Captain had engaged 
to take to Valparaiso. 

In connection with these facts it ought perhaps to 
be mentioned, that the carpenter who accompanied 
the priests to Tahiti, on account of his being a 
layman, was permitted to remain on the island. He 
immediately commenced operations, and prosecuted 
them so successfully, that in the course of three 
months after his arrival, he had completed a bowling 
alley for the use of seamen and the natives. This 
is probably the first establishment for gamblings ever 
erected at Tahiti. 



J9S SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Soon after the events which have been related, 
the queen of Tahiti addressed a letter to President 
Van Buren, informing him of the conduct of the 
Consul in regard to the Catholics, and requesting 
that he might be removed from office. With a 
promptness which does him honor, the President 
displaced him, and appointed Samuel R. Blackley 
in his room. * 

* The English and American prints for 1539, contain ac- 
counts of a visit of the French frigate La Venus to Tahiti, in 
consequence of the refusal of the natives to receive the Catholic 
missionaries. It is stated that Mr. Moerenhaut was rewarded 
for his zeal with the French Consulate, that the Venus was 
ordered to proceed from the South American station to punish 
the insults ottered at Tahiti to the subjects of His Most Chris- 
tian Majesty, — that the Captain on his arrival ordered the 
Queen to send on board his frigate $2,000; to write to the 
King of France a humble letter of apology, and to permit all 
French subjects to reside hereafter on the island, on the most 
favorable terms. It is further stated that the deck of the frigate 
having been cleared for action, the requisitions which have been 
specified, as well as some others, were enforced by threats of 
the immediate destruction of the town, in case they were not 
complied with ; and that the Queen was obliged to borrow the 
money to meet this unexpected demand. These acts of high 
handed oppression, which are as contrary to the laws of nations 
and the plainest principles of justice, as they are derogatory to 
the honor of the French name, are the more readily believed 
to be correctly stated, because an outrage in every respect simi- 
lar, has since been committed by the French frigate L'Arte- 
mise, at the Sandwich Islands. But as authentic documents 
to substantiate the particulars of the transaction, are not at 
hand, the substance of the account is here given, as originally 
published in the English papers, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 199 

We shall close this account of the Georgian Islands 
with an extract from a letter from Captain Hervey, 
master of a whaling vessel, dated Tahiti, May 5th, 
1839. " This is the most civilized place," says 
Captain H., " that I have been at in the South Seas; 
it is governed by a queen, daughter of old Pomare, 
a dignified young lady about twenty-five years of age. 
They have a good code of laws ; no spirits whatever 
are allowed to be landed on the island; therefore the 
sailors have no chance of getting drunk, and are all 
in an orderly state, and work goes on properly. It 
is one of the most gratifying sights the eye can 
witness on a Sunday in their church, which holds 
about five thousand, to see the queen near the pulpit, 
and all her subjects around her decently apparelled, 
and in seemingly pure devotion. I really never felt 
such a conviction of the great benefit of missionary 
labors before. The women are all dressed in bonnets 
after the fashion of some years back. Their attire 
is as near the English as they can copy." * 

* London Missionary Chronicle, December, 1839. 



CHAPTER X. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE LEEWARD 
OR SOCIETY ISLANDS. 

Station commenced at Huahine — Renunciation of idolatry — Destruc- 
tion of the gods— Attack on the Christians— Defeat of the idolaters — 
Clemency of the victors — Station commenced at Raiatea — Print- 
ing office at Huahine — Translation of the Scriptures — Change in 
the habits of the natives — Cultivation of the Cotton Plant — Aban- 
donment of the Plantation — Manufacture of Sugar— Missionary So- 
ciety formed in Huahine — Change in the appearance of Raiatea — 
Erection of dwellings— Ingenuity of the natives— New Chapels in 
Raiatea and Huahine — Schools — Improvement in the Females- 
Adoption of the English mode of dress. 

It has been stated in a preceding Chapter that 
when the missionaries were obliged to flee from Ta- 
hiti, in 1808, several of them took refuge in Huahine, 
and remained there till their departure for Port Jack- 
son. In 1814, after the return of the missionaries to 
the Georgian Islands, Messrs. Nott and Hayward, 
who had before visited Huahine and Raiatea, made a 
second visit to those islands and also to the neighbor- 
ing island of Tahaa. Wherever they went they were 
welcomed and entertained with hospitality. The 
inhabitants frequently assembled to hear their in- 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 201 

structions, and many listened with attention and 
apparent seriousness to the tidings of salvation by the 
death of Christ. 

In the autumn of the same year, Mr. Wilson and 
Pomare, while sailing from Eimeo, were driven to 
the island of Huahine, where they were detained 
nearly three months by contrary winds. During this 
time Mr. Wilson was employed in preaching the Gos- 
pel to the natives, and Pomare exerted all his influ- 
ence to induce them to abandon their idols, and 
embrace Christianity. It was not, however, till 1818, 
on the arrival of a reinforcement of missionaries 
from England, that a mission was commenced in the 
Society, or (as they are more frequently called when 
spoken of in connection with Tahiti and Eimeo) the 
Leeward Islands. In June of this year, Messrs. Da- 
vies, Williams, Orsmond, and Ellis, accompanied by 
a number of the principal chiefs of Eimeo, sailed 
from that island to Huahine for this purpose. On 
landing, the missionaries found that with one or two 
exceptions the natives had renounced idolatry, and, 
in profession at least, had become Christians. Infan- 
ticide, and some of the most degrading vices had 
been discontinued. The people, however, were not 
yet fully acquainted with the nature of Christianity, 
and were only partially under the influence of its 
moral restraints. The outward change which had 
taken place was owing to the example and efforts of 
Tamatoa, the king of Raiatea, and certain other 
chiefs who had been with him at Tahiti and Eimeo. 



202 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

These chiefs while living with Pom are at Eimeo, in 
the hope of assisting him in the recovery of his 
authority in Tahiti, had become deeply impressed by 
his conversation, and by the efforts of the mission- 
aries. They had attended the school and public 
worship, and several of them gave evidence of having 
sincerely embraced the Christian religion. Return- 
ing afterwards to their own islands, they earnestly 
requested that teachers and books might be sent 
them. Soon after his return, Tamatoa publicly re- 
nounced his idols and declared himself a believer in 
Jehovah and Jesus Christ. Several of the chiefs and 
a number of the people followed his example. Here, 
however, as in Tahiti, the idolatrous chiefs and 
inhabitants resorted to arms in defence of the gods. 
Exasperated at the destruction of Oro, their great 
national idol, they determined to make war upon the 
Christians and to put them all to death. Having 
erected a house, and enclosed it with the trunks of 
cocoanut and bread-fruit trees, they resolved to 
thrust the Christians into it, and burn them alive. 
Tamatoa sent frequent overtures of peace, but the 
invariable reply was, " There is no peace for god- 
burners, until they have felt the effects of the fire 
which destroyed Oro." The attack was made by the 
idolaters in canoes. Early in the morning of the day 
fixed on for the accomplishment of their design, the 
heathen party " with flying banners, the shout of the 
warriors, and the sound of the trumpet-shell, bore 
down in an imposing attitude upon the affrighted 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 203 

Christians, while they on their bended knees were 
supplicating the protection of God against the fury of 
their enemies, whose numbers, whose frightful prepa- 
rations, and superstitious madness, rendered them 
peculiarly formidable." While the idolaters were 
landing, the Christians rushed to the shore, and 
extended their little army as far as it would reach. 
The boldness of this movement w r as unexpected, and 
filled the assailants with consternation. After a short 
resistance, they threw away their arms and fled for 
their lives, expecting to meet with the same barbarous 
treatment which they would have inflicted had they 
been the conquerors. Perceiving, however, that 
those who had fallen into the hands of the Christians 
sustained no injury, they voluntarily came forward 
and threw themselves on the mercy of the victors. 
As the prisoners were conducted into the presence of 
the chief, a herald, who stood by his side, shouted, 
" Welcome ! welcome ! you are saved by Jesus, and 
the influence of the religion of mercy which we have 
embraced ! " When the chief who had led the 
heathen party was taken, and conducted, pale and 
trembling, into the presence of Tamatoa, he ex- 
claimed, " Am I dead ? " His fears were, however, 
soon dissipated by the reply, " No, brother ; cease to 
tremble ; you are saved by Jesus ! " Not content 
with sparing the lives of the prisoners, the Christians 
soon prepared a feast for them, consisting of a hun- 
dred baked pigs, and a large quantity of bread-fruit. 
But so overcome were the prisoners by the kindness 



204 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

with which they were treated, that but few of them 
w r ere able to partake of the food. While they were 
seated at the table, one of them rose, and declared 
his determination never again to worship the gods 
who could not protect them in the hour of danger. 
" We were," said he, " four times the number of the 
praying people, yet they have conquered us with the 
greatest ease. Jehovah is the true God. Had we 
conquered them, they would at this moment have 
been burning in the house we made strong for the 
purpose. But, instead of injuring us or our wives or 
children, they have prepared for us this sumptuous 
feast. Theirs is a religion of mercy. I will go and 
unite myself to this people." A similar feeling 
seemed to pervade the whole company. That very 
night they bowed their knees, and united with the 
Christians in returning thanks to God for the victory 
he had given them. On the following morning, the 
Christians and the heathen joined their efforts to 
demolish the gods and maraes, and three days after 
the battle every vestige of idolatry was destroyed. 

The inhabitants of Tahaa, Borabora, and Huahine 
soon followed the example of the Raiateans, demol- 
ishing their temples and burning their gods. A 
number of the chiefs and people of Borabora and 
Raiatea visited Maurua, the most westerly of the So- 
ciety Islands, and succeeded in persuading the inhabi- 
tants to destroy their temples and idols. The reign 
of idolatry in this group was now at an end. In 
one year the system of false worship, which had so 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 205 

long prevailed, was abolished and most of the peo- 
ple adopted the external forms of Christianity. A 
few of those who had been to Eimeo had acquired 
the elements of reading, and some had learned to 
repeat the lessons in the spelling book. With these 
exceptions, however, the people, though they dis- 
continued their superstitious ceremonies and built a 
house for the worship of God, were yet uncivilized 
heathen. 

Soon after the arrival of the missionaries at Hua- 
hine, they were visited by Tamatoa, the king of 
Raiatea, and a number of chiefs from that island, and 
from Tahaa and Borabora. The object of the visit 
was to persuade some of the missionaries to remove to 
these islands. Mai, the king of Borabora, had before 
written to them, reminding them that Jesus Christ 
and his Apostles did not confine themselves to one 
section of country, but, in order that as many as pos- 
sible might receive their instructions, travelled about 
visiting different places. Though the missionaries 
had previously determined to remain at one station, 
that they might aid each other in acquiring the lan- 
guage, the request of the chiefs was so urgent, that 
two of them, Messrs. Williams and Threlkeld, felt it 
to be their duty to accompany Tamatoa to Raiatea. 

Scarcely had the missionaries at Huahine provided 
themselves with comfortable habitations, when the 
supply of books brought from Eimeo was found 
unequal to the increasing demand, and it became 
necessary to erect a printing office. Two of the 



206 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

missionaries were employed in preaching to the peo- 
ple, and in translating the Gospels of Matthew and 
John into the native language, while the others were 
engaged in the establishment of schools and in the 
publication of books. Although the principal object 
of the missionaries was to elevate the social and 
religious character of the natives, they were not 
wanting in exertions to increase their temporal com- 
forts. Often did they endeavor to raise them from 
their abject and wretched modes of life, and to in- 
duce them to build more comfortable dwellings, and 
to adopt as far as possible the conveniences of Euro- 
peans. But while the inhabitants continued heathen 
their efforts were wholly unavailing. As soon, how- 
ever, as the change in their views and feelings, 
which we have described, took place, a corresponding 
change in their habits was also apparent. Learning 
from the Scriptures that idleness is opposed to the 
principles of Christianity, they became disposed to 
follow the recommendations of their teachers, and 
not only erected for themselves comfortable dwell- 
ings, but adopted the social and domestic habits of 
the missionaries. That motives to industry might 
not be wanting, it was also proposed to turn their 
attention to the cultivation of the cotton plant, in 
exchange for which a variety of articles could be 
obtained from Port Jackson and England. Accord- 
ingly a large piece of ground was cleared and planted 
with cotton seeds. The progress of the young plants 
was watched with the greatest care, and when the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 207 

first crop was ready for gathering, it was picked and 
packed in boxes for sale. Judging from its bulk, the 
natives had formed too high an estimate of its value, 
and when they found that a large quantity weighed 
only two or three pounds and that a proportionate 
price was offered, they were greatly disappointed. 
This circumstance, together with the length of time 
and the constant attention that a cotton plantation 
required, before any return could be received, dis- 
couraged them from continuing its culture. They 
preferred to cultivate such vegetables as they could 
dispose of, when vessels in want of refreshments 
stopped at the Islands, and receive cloth or some 
other article in return. 

Soon after the abandonment of the cotton planta- 
tion, the missionaries at the Leeward Islands had 
occasion to visit Tahiti and Eimeo, where they were 
detained for two weeks. During this time they 
obtained from Mr. Gyles much valuable information 
relative to the culture of the cane and the manufac- 
ture of sugar, and after their return to Huahine they 
planted the ground which had been enclosed for a 
cotton garden with sugar cane, and recommended the 
cultivation of it to the natives. With their assistance 
a mill was subsequently erected, and some of the 
machinery and boilers which had been sent out by the 
Missionary Society having been brought to Huahine, 
an attempt was made to manufacture sugar. To the 
surprise and gratification of the missionaries as well 
as of tho natives, the experiment was successful. 



208 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Encouraged by the success that had attended their 
own efforts, the missionaries recommended to the 
natives to direct their attention to the manufacture of 
this article, by which means they might not only ob- 
tain sugar for their own use but for barter with ship- 
ping. Several of the chiefs soon began to cultivate 
the cane, and the people gradually became so well 
acquainted with the process as to be able to boil it 
themselves. The missionaries in Raiatea also erected 
a mill, cultivated a quantity of cane, made sugar 
themselves, and taught the islanders to do the same. 
Although many circumstances have hitherto prevented 
the culture of the cane from being extensively intro- 
duced, the chiefs and many of the people make sugar 
for their own use, and have occasionally supplied 
captains of ships. And as the natives have obtained 
a knowledge of the process of manufacturing the 
article, it is believed that it will prove an important 
and a permanent advantage. 

In the autumn of this year, some of the chiefs of 
Huahine and Raiatea, who had been present at the 
formation of the Tahitian Missionary Society, pro- 
posed that a similar society should be formed in 
Huahine. Accordingly a day was fixed, on which a 
public meeting was to be held for its establishment. 
On the 6th of October, 1818, the missionaries of 
Huahine and those from Raiatea, accompanied by 
the chiefs and a crowd of people, repaired to the 
chapel. The place was soon filled, and such numbers 
were unable to gain admission that it was necessary 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 209 

to take down one of the ends of the house, that all 
who were assembled might hear. In the forenoon a 
sermon was preached, and in the afternoon the people 
were addressed by Mahine, the chief of Huahine, and 
by others, on the advantages which they had derived 
from the Gospel, the destitute state of those who had 
not received it, and the obligation they were under to 
send it to them. The plan adopted was that each 
person who was disposed should annually prepare a 
small quantity of cocoanut oil, which should be col- 
lected, sent to England, and sold to aid the Society 
which had sent them missionaries. 

The missionaries at Raiatea applied themselves so 
diligently to the acquisition of the language, that in 
the course of a few months after their arrival they 
were able to preach to the natives. The congrega- 
tions on the Sabbath were large and attentive, and 
the school which they had established was in a 
flourishing condition. Early in this year, Messrs. 
Barff and Ellis, from Huahine, visited the missionary 
station at Raiatea. As they approached the shore, 
crowds of natives, who had been watching them for 
some time, waded into the sea to welcome them. 
Before the missionaries were aware of their design, 
more than twenty stout men had lifted the boat out 
of the water, and raised it on their shoulders. In 
this elevated situation, amidst the shouts of the 
bearers and the acclamations of the multitude on 
shore, they were carried first to the beach, and then 
to the yard in front of the king's house, where they 
14 



210 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

were set down safe upon the pavement. The mis- 
sionaries were delighted with the change which had 
been wrought in the habits and appearance of the 
people of Raiatea through the instrumentality of their 
brethren. A carpenter's shop had been erected, the 
forge was in daily operation, and a large place of 
worship was building. A school had been established 
which was in a flourishing condition, and on the Sab- 
bath a numerous and attentive congregation met for 
public worship. The missionaries had erected dwel- 
lings for themselves, the frame work of which was of 
wood, wattled, and plastered with lime made of coral. 
" It was my determination, when I left England,' 7 
says Mr. Williams, " to have as respectable a 
dwelling as I could erect, for the missionary does 
not go to barbarize himself, but to civilize the 
heathen. He ought not therefore to sink down to 
their standard but to elevate them to his." 

A house similar to that of Mr. Williams was soon 
after built for Tamatoa, which was the first of the 
kind erected for their own abode by any of the natives 
of the South Sea Islands. A plastered house was 
soon after finished on the island of Huahine, in the 
district of Fare. The success of the individuals who 
had built houses encouraged others to follow their 
example, and the settlements in the Leeward Islands 
soon began to assume a new aspect. So much 
patience and perseverance, however, were requisite 
in the building of a house, that the missionaries often 
found great difficulty in persuading the people to 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 211 

continue their labors, even after they had commenced. 
As there were not among them any regular carpenters 
or masons, it was no easy matter for them to build 
framed houses. Every man had to go to the woods 
or the mountains and cut down trees for timber, 
which, after they had been shaped for posts, he 
removed to the place where his house was to be built. 
When the frame, door-way, and windows were finished, 
he had again to go to the woods for branches of the 
hibiscus for the roof. The leaves of the pardanus 
were next gathered, soaked, and sewed on reeds, and 
with these the roof was thatched. A large pile of 
fire-wood was then prepared, a pit was dug, a quantity 
of coral collected, burned, and mixed with sand, so as 
to form mortar with which to wattle the walls and 
partitions of the house. Another journey to the 
mountains was now necessary for trees, to be sawn or 
split into boards for flooring the rooms, making doors 
and shutters. In the construction of these last, the 
progress of the natives was somewhat retarded by the 
want of nails. But their invention and perseverance 
at length overcame the difficulty, and they constructed 
their doors by fastening together three upright boards 
about six feet long, by means of three narrow cross- 
pieces, one at each end, the other in the middle. 
These cross-pieces were fastened to the long boards 
by strong wooden pegs, and so determined were they 
to supply by the number of pegs what they wanted in 
strength, that fifty or sixty of them were sometimes 
driven through one of the cross-pieces, into the boards 



212 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

which formed the door. In the same way the floors 
were fastened to the sleepers, though the pins used for 
this purpose were much larger than the nails in a 
house floor. In hanging the doors the ingenuity of 
the natives was again put in requisition. Unable to 
procure iron hinges, they substituted pieces of the 
skin of animals, or leather procured from ships ; but 
these soon broke, and wooden hinges were contrived, 
which, though made with great care and the joints 
neatly fitted, had a clumsy appearance, and were 
easily broken. It was many years before even the 
chiefs were able to procure iron hinges. The satis- 
faction of those whose houses were completed was 
proportionate to the labor bestowed in building them, 
and the comfort enjoyed by the occupants of these 
new habitations made them sometimes ready to doubt 
whether they were the same people, who had been 
contented in their former dwellings surrounded by 
animals and vermin. 

While these domestic improvements were going on 
in the islands of Huahine and Raiatea, the people of 
these islands were also occupied in building chapels 
for the worship of God. The edifice erected for this 
purpose in Raiatea was more than one hundred feet in 
length and forty-two feet in width. It was completed 
and opened for divine service, early in the year 1820, 
when upwards of 2,400 inhabitants of that and the 
adjacent islands assembled within its walls. By the 
ingenuity of the missionaries it was subsequently 
furnished with a rustic set of chandeliers, the frames 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 213 

of which were of light wood, and opaque cocoanut 
shells. On the night when the chapel was first illumi- 
nated, the natives as they entered, involuntarily stop- 
ped to gaze, and few proceeded to their seats without 
an exclamation of surprise or admiration. The chapel 
in Huahine, one hundred feet long and sixty wide, 
was also finished and opened in May of this year. 
The walls were plastered within and without, and the 
windows closed with sliding shutters. All classes 
had cheerfully united in the work, and the king of 
the island, with his son, a youth of seventeen, were 
daily employed in directing the laborers or using the 
plane and chisel themselves. 

As soon as the new chapel in Huahine was finished, 
the building which had been previously used for that 
purpose was converted into a school-house. Two 
other buildings were afterwards erected, one for 
the boys' school and the other for the girls'. These, 
when finished, greatly facilitated the instruction of 
the people, encouraging many to attend who had 
before been deterred by want of suitable accommoda- 
tions. Schools were also established in the other 
islands of the group, and the improvement of the 
pupils became daily more and more perceptible. The 
same eagerness to obtain books was manifested here 
as in the Windward Islands, and nothing could exceed 
the delight with which the treasure was received by 
those who were so fortunate as to obtain one. 

While the erection of dwellings, chapels, and 
school-houses, and the cultivation of gardens were 



214 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

rapidly changing the aspect of the settlements at 
Huahine and Raiatea, an alteration no less perceptible 
was taking place in the appearance of the natives 
themselves. Here, as in the Georgian Islands, the 
females began to rise from the state of degradation in 
which they had been so long held, to the enjoyment 
of the comforts of domestic life, and the pleasure re- 
sulting from the cultivation of their minds. Having 
learned to read the Scriptures, and to write in their 
own language, they became anxious to engage in the 
employments appropriate to their sex. In Huahine 
two of the missionaries 5 wives spent every afternoon 
in teaching the females to sew, and they soon had the 
satisfaction of seeing a commendable degree of 
improvement. The desire to obtain foreign clothing 
became very strong, and as soon as one article was 
procured it was immediately worn, without waiting 
for a complete dress. This fondness for variety was 
evinced also by the men, and sometimes in such a 
manner as to give them an exceedingly ludicrous 
appearance. " I have seen,' 5 says a missionary, " a 
stocking sometimes on the leg, and sometimes on the 
arm, and a pair of pantaloons worn one part of the 
day in a proper manner, and during another part 
thrown over the shoulders, the arms of the wearer 
stretched through the legs, and the waistband button- 
ed round the chest. 55 Those who were furnished with 
an entire suit, at first arranged the articles so unskil- 
fully on their persons, that it was impossible to behold 
them without smiling. For instance, a tall man was 



i 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 215 

sometimes seen with a hat and shoes on, a long, 
black surtout, with the collar turned up, and buttoned 
close to his chin, and over it a white shirt, the collar 
unbuttoned, the bosom open, and the sleeves drawn 
up to the elbows. The reason assigned for his singu- 
lar appearance was, that the shirt was so much shorter 
than the coat that had it been put on underneath it 
would not have been seen. Such exhibitions as these 
were, however, only made immediately after the 
introduction of European clothing. The females 
always manifested some degree of propriety in their 
dress, and the men soon learned to arrange their 
apparel in a becoming manner. 

The first hats and bonnets worn by the natives were 
made in 1820, by the missionaries at Raiatea, and 
shortly afterwards they were introduced at Huahine. 
They were at first made of the inner bark of the 
branches of the purau, or the leaves of a species of 
rush. The former was white and glossy, the latter 
yellow, and much more durable. When the bonnets 
were completed, their owners were often at a loss for 
what seemed a necessary appendage — a riband to tie 
it with. Their ingenuity, however, soon provided 
them with various substitutes. A strip of black or 
red cloth was often used, but ribands of native cloth 
dyed with showy colors, were in greater demand. 
Bonnets and hats have now become common at all 
the islands. They are made entirely by the females, 
and are sewed together like straw or leghorn. 

Some time after the adoption of the English dress 



216 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

in Huahine, the queen and several of the chief women 
of that island were presented with caps by some 
ladies in England. Their first appearance in public, 
with this new article of dress, occasioned much sur- 
prise in the attendants and others who were present. 
After the first astonishment was over, remarks were 
made on the appearance of the Huahinian ladies in 
their English caps. Some thought they were designed 
to keep the head cool, others that the object was to 
keep it warm, and others supposed the caps were 
intended to preserve the head from flies and musqui- 
toes. All agreed that they looked very strangely, and 
the wearers seemed to think so themselves. They 
looked at one another for some time most signifi- 
cantly, without saying a word, each seeming to won- 
der whether her head resembled that of her neighbor. 
As they supposed, however, that it was the custom in 
England to wear caps, they readily yielded their own 
private opinion in regard to the convenience of them, 
and unhesitatingly conformed to the fashion of their 
English friends. 



CHAPTER XL 

PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 

Observance of the Sabbath — Private devotions — Sabbath Schools — 
Public worship — Weekly meetings — First baptism — Revival of 
religion — Celebration of the Lord's Supper — Improvement in the 
social condition of the people — -Introduction of a code of laws — 
Insurrection quelled — Execution of the laws — Love of peace — 
Death of the king's son — Prosperity of Huahine — Increased in- 
terest in religion — Missionary meetings — Notice of Mahine. 

In no one respect was the change that has been 
described in the South Sea Islanders more apparent 
than in their manner of spending the Sabbath. Their 
regularity and punctuality in attending public worship 
has already been noticed. But it was not this alone 
that impressed a stranger, and led the missionaries to 
feel that the Sabbath was to them a hallowed day. 
It was customary for those who resided at a distance 
from the settlement to repair thither for the Sabbath, 
that they might enjoy the benefit of religious in- 
struction. On a Saturday afternoon, parties from 
every direction were seen approaching the missionary 
station, either by sea or by land. The shore was 
lined with canoes, and the encampment of natives 
along the beach presented a scene of bustling activity. 



218 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Their food for the Sabbath was all prepared on 
Saturday, and carefully placed in baskets. Their 
calabashes were filled with fresh water, their fruit 
was gathered, and bundles of the broad hibiscus leaf 
were collected to serve instead of plates. The dwel- 
lings of the natives appeared more than usually neat 
and clean, and at an early hour the preparations for 
the Sabbath were completed. Not only was the 
Sabbath a day of rest from labor and worldly amuse- 
ments, but no visits were made, and no company 
entertained ; — nor was any fire kindled except in case 
of sickness. And here, perhaps, it ought to be re- 
marked, that this strict observance of the Sabbath 
was never directly enjoined by the missionaries. It 
was the wish of the natives themselves to suspend 
on that day their ordinary avocations. This was 
no doubt partly attributable to the example of their 
teachers, but with many it was probably the result 
of impressions left on their minds by their former 
superstitious system. While they were heathen, their 
religion consisted in a great measure in the strict 
observance of sacred days, and the punctilious per- 
formance of ceremonies. It was natural, therefore, 
that they should transfer something of this feeling to 
the Christian Sabbath. Some, however, there were 
who were undoubtedly actuated by higher and holier 
motives, and whose reverence for the day was the 
result of Christian principle. The following instance 
of conscientious regard for the Sabbath is mentioned 
by one of the missionaries. On a certain occasion, a 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 219 

man came to him on Monday, and said he feared he had 
done wrong. Being asked in what way, he answered 
that in returning from public worship the preceding 
day he noticed that the tide, having risen higher 
than usual, had washed out to sea a large pair of 
double canoes, which he had left on the beach. His 
first thought was to take a smaller canoe and bring 
back the larger ones, but recollecting that it was the 
Sabbath, and that the Scriptures prohibited any work 
on that day, he desisted from his purpose. The 
canoes drifted towards the reef, and were broken on 
the rocks. Though the man had not saved his 
canoes by working on the Sabbath, he feared he had 
sinned by allowing himself to think about the loss 
he had sustained, which was indeed considerable. 
A chief of Huahine once asked Mr. Ellis, whether 
it would be right for him, if he were walking in his 
garden on the Sabbath day and saw ripe plantains 
hanging from the trees, to pluck and eat them. " I 
felt inclined/ 5 said he, " to do so last Sabbath, but 
remembering that I had other fruit gathered, I hes- 
itated — not because I believed it would be in itself 
sinful, but lest my attendants should notice it and do 
so too, and it should become a general practice with 
the people to go to their gardens, and gather fruit to 
eat on the Sabbath, which would be unfavorable to 
the proper observance of the day." 

The private devotions of the natives on the Sabbath 
(and the same was true of other days) were finished by 
sunrise, and soon after, the greater part of the inhabi- 



220 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

tants assembled for their weekly prayer meeting. 
Often six or eight hundred persons were present. 
The meeting was generally conducted by a native, one 
perhaps who had formerly been an idolatrous priest. 
The singing of a hymn, and the reading of a portion 
of Scripture, were followed by prayers which, when 
we consider that they were offered by those who but 
a few years before were ignorant and barbarous idol- 
aters, were of the most appropriate and touching 
character. At eight o'clock, the children assembled 
in the Sabbath school, where they remained an hour. 
They were then conducted to the chapel, each class 
walking in pairs with its teacher. A particular por- 
tion of the chapel was assigned to the Sabbath school 
scholars, and here they all quietly seated themselves, 
waiting for the commencement of public worship. 
In the afternoon they again assembled in the schools 
to read the Scriptures, and to repeat hymns and the 
catechism. They were also questioned as to their 
recollection of the morning sermon, and it was often 
surprising to see the readiness with which they would 
repeat not only the text, but the divisions, and often 
the leading thoughts of the discourse. At the close 
of the school the afternoon worship was held. A 
weekly lecture was also delivered, which was always 
well attended. A sea captain, who was present at 
one of these meetings, says, " The most perfect 
order reigned the whole time of the service. The 
devout attention which these poor people paid to 
what was going forward, and the earnestness with 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 22$ 

Which they listened to their teacher, would shame an 
English congregation. I declare, I never saw any 
thing to equal it ! Objects of the greatest curiosity 
at all other times, they paid no sort of attention to 
during the solemnity of their worship. After it was 
over, crowds, as usual, gathered round to look at our 
uniforms, to them so new and uncommon. I looked 
found very often during the sermon, and saw not one 
of the congregation flag in his attention to it. Every 
face was directed to the preacher, and each coun- 
tenance strongly marked with sincerity and pleasure. " 
A meeting was held every week for the instruction 
of those who wished to make a public profession 
of religion ; besides which there were occasional 
meetings for conversation. At these the natives in- 
quired the meaning of different passages of Scripture, 
and asked other questions. Miscellaneous subjects 
were often introduced, and their discussions occa- 
sionally assumed a metaphysical character. An in- 
quiry was sometimes made in regard to the seat of 
the affections and of the intellect, but they more 
generally referred to something tangible, or to some 
religious subject in which they were deeply interested. 
When first instructed in the duty of prayer, they 
asked, ' Must we not learn to pray in the English 
language ? Will not God be angry if we should use 
incorrect expressions in prayer ? If we are interrupted 
in prayer and our attention is diverted, shall we leave 
off or continue ? If we should engage in prayer with 
one who had committed murder, should we not appear 



222 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

to sanction his crime V At a later period they asked, 
'How can we prevent evil thoughts from coming into 
our minds when we are praying 1 How can we 
engage the heart in prayer ? ; A father and mother 
once asked, if it would be right to take their little 
child to some retired place, and there talk with it 
and teach it to pray to God ? With reference to 
family prayer, which was regularly observed, they 
inquired whether Jesus Christ had family prayer with 
his disciples 1 ' If the husband is sick or absent, 
should the wife assemble the family and pray with 
them ? Will not our repentance be more acceptable 
to God if we rend our garments and cover our heads 
with ashes ? What language was spoken by our first 
parents ? and what was the color of their skin ? Did 
Adam and Eve repent and obtain pardon ? How 
does their crime affect posterity ? If God had not 
forbidden our first parents to eat of the tree of 
knowledge, would Satan have tempted Eve 1 What 
caused the angels in heaven to sin ? How did Satan 
become a wicked spirit 1 If God is holy and power- 
ful, why does he not kill Satan, and so prevent all the 
evil of which he is the author ? ' 

The fate of their departed ancestors was to them a 
subject of painful interest. s Have none of the former 
inhabitants of these islands gone to heaven ? How 
shall we be raised from the dead ? Will the original 
parts of every human body be re-united at the resur- 
rection 1 Shall we know one another in Heaven ? ' 
Their questions often referred to the means by which 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 223 

they might know whether they were Christians. 
< How can we attain true repentance and a change 
of heart ? How may we know that we are not 
deceiving ourselves ? How may we be kept from 
forsaking God and committing sin ? How can we 
be safe from Satan ? How can we be secure of ad- 
mission to Heaven ? ' 

Although the question was sometimes asked, 'How 
do you know that the Bible is the word of God V the 
reception of the Scriptures as a divine revelation was 
universal. Says a missionary, " I never knew one who 
professed himself a Christian inclined to doubt the 
authority of the Bible." When a measure was recom- 
mended, which their teachers thought would be advan- 
tageous to them, they would ask, ' What says the Scrip- 
ture in regard to it 1 Is there any thing about it in 
the Word of God ? ' Such questions as these certainly 
go very far to prove that the mental capacities of the 
South Sea Islanders are by no means so limited as 
has been supposed, and they show also the influence 
of Christian principles upon the mind and heart.* 

* It may be interesting to compare the workings of un- 
cultivated mind among the swarthy inhabitants of the South 
Sea Islands with the intellectual acuteness exhibited in similar 
circumstances by the red men of America, among whom Eliot 
labored in the latter half of the seventeenth century. In these 
instances, the minds of heathen and savages were subjected to 
the influence of the new and exciting stimulus which Chris- 
tianity furnishes. It was natural that the inquiries should take 
in both cases the same direction, and there is a striking similar- 
ity in the shrewdness indicated by the questions. " The minds 



224 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

The baptism of the first converts in the Leeward 
Islands took place in Huahine in September, 1819. 
Mahine, the principal chief of the island, was among 
the number. The name of every individual was 
formerly descriptive of some event of quality, as 
Fanauo, day-born, Fanaupo, night-born, Paari, wise, 
and many of them were significant of something 
blasphemous, idolatrous, or impure. Names of this 
description the missionaries advised the people to 
renounce, and select those by which in future they 
wished to be called. Scriptural names were in 
general chosen by the adults for themselves and 
their children. After the first baptism, an address, 

of the philosopher and the savage are not so wide apart as is 
often imagined; they both alike find it difficult to solve the 
problem of existence. The world is divided between materialists 
and spiritualists. l What is a Spirit?' said the Indians of 
Massachusetts to their apostle. { Can the soul be inclosed in 
iron, so that it cannot escape ? When Christ arose, whence 
came his soul . p ' Every clan had some vague conceptions of 
immortality. l Shall I know you in Heaven ? ' said an inquiring 
red man. ' Our little children have not sinned; when they die 
where do they go ? Do they in heaven dwell in houses, and 
what, do they do ? Do they know things done here on earth ? ' 
The origin of moral evil has engaged the minds of the most 
subtle. ' Why,' demanded the natives on the banks of the 
Charles, < why did not God give all men good hearts ? Since 
God is all powerful, why did he not kill the devil that made 
man so bad ? ' Of themselves they fell into the mazes of fixed 
decrees and free-will. * Doth God know who will repent and 
believe and who not ? ' The statesman might have hesitated 
in his answers to some problems. The ballot-box was to them 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 225 

on the nature of the ordinance and the duties of 
those who received it, was printed and widely cir- 
culated, apparently with good effect. The weekly 
meeting for those who desired baptism was con- 
tinued, and, after the first administration of this rite, 
the number of those attending it was greatly in- 
creased. Many, who had previously been indifferent 
to religion, now seemed in earnest to obtain it, and 
not only in Huahine but in the other missionary 
stations, a general desire to obtain the favor of God 
seemed to prevail among the people. " Often," says 
Mr. Ellis, " have we been aroused at break of day, 



a mystery. l When you choose magistrates, how do you know 
who are good men, whom you dare trust ? ' And again, t If a 
man be wise and his sachem weak, must he yet obey him ? ' 
Cases of casuistry occurred. I will cite but two, one of which 
at least cannot easily be decided. Eliot preached against 
polygamy. ( Suppose a man before he knew God,' inquired a 
convert, * hath had two wives; the first childless, the second 
bearing him many sweet children whom he exceedingly loves ; 
which of these two wives is to be put away ? ' And the 
question which Kotzebue proposed in a fiction that has found 
its way across the globe, was in real life put to the pure minded 
Eliot among the wigwams of Nonantum. ' Suppose a squaw 
desert and flee from her husband and live with another distant 
Indian, till hearing the Word, she repents and desires to come 
again to her husband, who remains still unmarried; shall the 
husband, upon her repentance, receive her again ? ' The poet 
of civilization tells us that happiness is the end of our being. 
1 How shall I find happiness ? ' demanded the savage. And 
Eliot was never tired with this importunity," &c. — Bancroft 's 
History of the United States, ii. 95, 96. 

15 



226 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

by persons coming to inquire what they must do to 
be saved, how they might obtain the forgiveness of 
their sins, and the favor of God ; expressing their 
desires to become the people of God and to renounce 
every practice contrary to Christian consistency." 
Some were undoubtedly influenced by a desire to be 
baptized, but with others the event has satisfactorily 
proved it was not so. Many, who at that time were 
awakened and professed conversion, have ever since 
given evidence of being actuated by Christian prin- 
ciple. There were, however, some, though this num- 
ber was not large, who, having been baptized, were 
disposed to rest satisfied without making greater 
attainments. Under these circumstances, it became 
necessary for the missionaries to lengthen the term 
of probation for those who wished to be baptized, 
and in some instances persons have been considered 
as candidates more than two years. The missionaries 
preferred, if they should err at all in this matter, to 
err on the side of carefulness, and their desire to 
administer baptism to none but those who were proper 
subjects for it, led them, perhaps, to defer it in some 
cases longer than was necessary. 

This first revival of religion in the Leeward Islands 
occurred in the years 1819 and 1820. Early in May, 
1820, the first Christian church in this group was 
organized at Huahine, and on the following Sabbath 
sixteen persons, who gave evidence of being truly 
pious, united for the first time with the missionaries 
in the commemoration of the death of Christ. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 227 

The whole congregation, amounting to several hun- 
dreds, remained to witness this interesting scene, and 
by their thoughtful and serious countenances evinced 
how deeply they were affected by it. The annual 
meeting of the Missionary Society in Huahine was 
held soon after the formation of the church. The 
subscriptions were unusually large, amounting to 
between 3,000 and 4,000 gallons of oil, besides cotton 
and other articles. In February of the following 
year, four of the converts, who had long been con- 
sistent Christians, were set apart to the office of 
deacons, and proved valuable assistants to the mis- 
sionaries. So general had the interest in religious 
things become, that wherever the people were col- 
lected, religion was the topic of conversation. The 
houses of the missionaries were sometimes thronged 
at day-break by those whose minds were distressed, 
and often, after they had retired to rest, some would 
come to their doors and beg for instruction. A great 
change had taken place in these once degraded 
islanders. This change was apparent not only in 
their manner of keeping the Sabbath, but in their 
daily intercourse with one another. The aged and 
the sick, who had formerly been treated with the 
greatest neglect and cruelty, were now nursed with 
care by their relatives and children. In some of the 
islands, benevolent societies were formed among the 
natives, for the purpose of building houses for the 
poor, and supplying with food and clothing the sick 
who had no friends to take care of them. Besides 



228 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

this, they were visited by persons who read the Scrip- 
tures and prayed with them, so that their last days 
were cheered by the precious consolations of the 
Gospel. Parental restraint and discipline began also 
to receive attention. The mothers endeavored to 
influence their children and gain their affection by 
kindness. The fathers sometimes resorted to harsher 
measures. An anecdote is related of one who, when 
his son had been disobedient, invented a novel ex- 
pedient to make the boy sensible of his error. 
Throwing a rope over the ridge-pole of his house, 
he fastened one end of it to a long basket of cocoa- 
nut leaves, into which he put the boy, and taking 
hold of the other end of the rope, drew him up to 
the roof, that he might think on his disobedience and 
not repeat the offence. 

The circumstances attending the introduction of a 
code of laws at Raiatea are sufficiently remarkable 
to claim a place in this narrative. Christianity had 
been welcomed by the chiefs, and its establishment 
as the religion of the island was desired by the well- 
disposed part of the community. But there were 
some abandoned young men who, accustomed as they 
had been while heathen to live by plunder, did not 
relish the restraints which Christianity imposed. 
They entered into a regular conspiracy to overturn 
the government. In order to accomplish their de- 
sign, they determined to murder the missionaries, 
Mr. Williams and Mr. Threlkeld, and Tamatoa, the 
principal chief. Mr. Williams was in the habit of 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 229 

going occasionally on Saturday to spend the Sabbath 
at the neighboring island of Tahaa. Four of the 
conspirators volunteered their services to convey him 
thither, and had engaged to throw him into the sea, 
while their associates at Raiatea promised to despatch 
Mr. Threlkeld and Tamatoa. A providential, though 
apparently trivial circumstance, prevented Mr. Wil- 
liams from leaving the island on the day fixed for the 
execution of the plot. The boat in which he was to 
go had been recently repaired and painted, and, not 
having oil enough, Mr. Williams was under the ne- 
cessity of using a substitute made from the cocoanut, 
which prevented the paint from drying, so that when 
he prepared to launch the boat, he found it unfit for 
the voyage. The young men were exceedingly 
anxious that he should go, and came to him several 
times during the day, but Mr. Williams told them 
that as the paint was not dry, it was impossible. 
Thwarted in their plans, they determined on the fol- 
lowing day to carry them openly into execution. 
While Mr. and Mrs. Williams were sitting at dinner, 
one of the party was sent to their house for that pur- 
pose. He was dressed most fantastically, wearing a 
pair of trowsers as a jacket, and a red shirt instead 
of trowsers, his head being decorated with leaves. 
Brandishing in his hand a large carving knife, he 
danced before the house, crying, " Turn out the hog, 
let us kill him; turn out the pig, let us cut his 
throat." Disturbed by his conduct, and not appre- 
hending any danger, Mr. Williams rose from the 



230 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

table to desire him to desist. On opening the door, 
he was met by one of his deacons almost breathless 
with running, who exclaimed " Why do you go out? 
You are the pig he is calling for, you will be dead in 
a moment." The deacon then informed him of the 
danger he had escaped, and of the plot which had 
just been discovered. On the following day the 
chiefs held a meeting, and determined to put the four 
ringleaders to death. The missionaries remonstrated 
with them, and after a whole day's discussion the 
chiefs at length yielded, and spared the lives of the 
conspirators. In the course* of conversation, the 
chiefs inquired what the English people would do 
under such circumstances. They were informed by 
the missionaries, that in England there were estab- 
lished laws, by which all offenders were tried before 
judges appointed for the purpose. They then wished 
to know what judges and laws were, and when the 
nature of the office of judge and the character of a 
code of laws was explained to them, they said " Why 
cannot we have the same?" A judge was accord- 
ingly appointed pro tempore, by whom the criminals 
were tried, and the ringleaders sentenced to four 
years' banishment on an uninhabited island. 

A code of laws was soon after prepared by the 
missionaries, and recognized by the chiefs and people 
of Raiatea as the basis of public justice. It was 
publicly proclaimed in May, 1820. At a national 
assembly, held in Huahine in May, 1821, a code of 
laws similar to that adopted in Raiatea was promul- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 231 

gated in that island also, under the authority of the 
queen, the governor, and the chiefs. These laws met 
with the approbation of the people, and the result 
showed that public sentiment was sufficiently strong 
in their favor to maintain them. There were, how- 
ever, a number in the community, especially of dis- 
solute young men, who did not relish the restraints 
which these laws imposed on their appetites and pas- 
sions. They did not at first venture to oppose their 
execution, but waited for some change of public 
opinion favorable to their wishes. But when they 
became convinced that the new code was likely to be 
permanent, their discontent was made public. The 
practice of tattooing, on account of its connection 
with idolatry and with certain vices, had been pro- 
hibited. In the month of July, it was discovered 
that forty-six young men had been marking them- 
selves. This was done, not from any desire to orna- 
ment their persons, but from impatience of the re- 
straint imposed by the laws. They were publicly 
tried, and sentenced to build a certain quantity of 
stone work as a punishment. A day or two after- 
wards it was discovered that Taaroarii, the king's 
son, a youth about eighteen years of age, had also 
been tattooed. This was considered as evidence of 
a determination to oppose his father, and produced 
a strong sensation among the people. The father, a 
venerable old man, was deeply agitated by a struggle 
between affection and duty. The latter prevailed, 
and his son was brought to trial His punishment 



232 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

was the same as that of the others. In the month of 
August, Taaroarii withdrew from the place of pun- 
ishment, with a number of the culprits, to Parea, in 
the northern part of the island. There they were 
joined by the son of the king of Raiatea, a young 
man of twenty-six years of age, and by a large party 
of associates. These proceedings seemed to indicate 
that a formidable rebellion was about to break out. 
Under these circumstances, a public council of the 
chiefs and people was held, to deliberate on the 
course to be pursued. After several interesting and 
affecting speeches, it was determined that kindness 
should be mingled with decision. An armed force 
was sent, with orders to reason with the malcontents, 
and invite them to return to their duty, and to resort 
to arms only in case of resistance. The insurrection 
was quelled without violence. The rebels surrendered 
and were brought back as captives. Two days after, 
they were tried and sentenced to public labor, with 
police officers to guard them. On the evening after 
the trial the weekly service was thronged by great 
numbers of the people, and their attention was di- 
rected to the history of Absalom's rebellion. The 
turbulence of these disaffected young men having 
been repressed without any blood-shed, the supremacy 
of the laws was firmly and permanently established. 

The manner in which the laws were carried into 
execution may be seen by the following incident. In 
the autumn of 1822, the queen of Tahiti visited Hua- 
hine with her attendants. The latter, wishing for 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 233 

some timber, were directed by the queen to cut down 
a bread-fruit tree, which grew in the garden of a poor 
man. Her orders were obeyed and the tree was car- 
ried away. Teuhe, the owner of the garden, returned 
in the evening to his cottage and saw that the tree 
was gone. He was informed by some of his neigh- 
bors that the queen's men had cut it down. He im- 
mediately repaired to the magistrate and lodged a 
complaint against Her Majesty. The magistrate 
directed him to come to the place of public justice 
the following morning at sunrise, and substantiate 
his charge. He afterwards sent his servant to the 
queen and invited her presence at the same hour. 
The next morning as the sun rose, the magistrate 
was seen sitting in the open air, beneath the branches 
of a tree ; before him, on a finely woven mat, sat the 
queen attended by her train. Near the queen stood 
Teuhe, the poor man, and around them all the police 
officers. Turning to Teuhe, the magistrate inquired 
for what purpose they were convened. The poor 
man said that in his garden grew a bread-fruit tree, 
whose shade was grateful to the inmates of his cot- 
tage, and whose fruit contributed nearly half the year 
to the support of his family ; that yesterday it was cut 
down, as he was informed, by order of the queen. 
He knew that they had laws, and he had thought 
they protected the poor man's property as well as 
that of the king and chiefs, and he wished to know 
whether it was right, that the tree should have been 
cut down without his consent. The magistrate turned 



234 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

to the queen, and asked if she had directed the tree 
to be cut down. She answered, " Yes." He then 
asked her if she did not know that they had laws. 
She said, Yes, but she was not aware that they 
applied to her. The magistrate asked if there were 
any exceptions in favor of chiefs, or kings, or queens. 
She said, " No," and immediately despatched one of 
her attendants to her house, who soon returned with 
a bag of money, which she threw down before the 
poor man as a recompense for his loss. " Stop," 
said the justice, " we have not done yet." The 
queen began to weep. " Do you think it was right," 
continued the magistrate, " for you to cut down the 
tree without asking the owner's permission ? " " No, 
it was not right," said the queen. Then turning to 
the poor man, he asked, " What remuneration do 
you require ? " Teuhe answered, " If the queen is 
convinced that it was not right to take a little man's 
tree without his permission, I am sure she w 7 ill not do 
so again. I am satisfied. I require no other recom- 
pense." His disinterestedness was applauded. The 
assembly dispersed, and afterwards the queen sent 
him privately a present equal to the value of the tree. 
Slight insurrections similar to that which was 
excited in Huahine have occurred in Tahaa and some 
of the other islands, but, since the introduction of 
Christianity, peace has prevailed for a much longer 
period than was ever before known. The love of 
peace among the natives seems even to exceed their 
former delight in war, and their desires to perpetuate 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 235 

it are continually strengthened. Their feelings in 
regard to it are expressed in terms like the following. 
" Let our hands forget how to lift the club or throw 
the spear. Let our guns decay with rust, we do not 
want them ; though we have been pierced with balls 
or spears, if we pierce each other now, let it be with 
the word of God. How happy are we now; yve sleep 
not w T ith our cartridges under our heads, our muskets 
by our side, and our hearts palpitating with alarm. 
We have the Bible, we know the Saviour, and if all 
knew him, if all obeyed him, there would be no more 
war." 

Parties, who formerly cherished the most implaca- 
ble hatred and sometimes threatened each other's ex- 
termination, now live on the most friendly terms. 
Mutual offices of kindness and affection are exchanged, 
and the utmost harmony and propriety mark their 
intercourse with one another. Their weapons are 
either destroyed or converted into implements of 
husbandry, or, if suffered to retain their former 
shape, it is only as relics of former days. 

The year 1821 was one of much importance in the 
annals of Huahine, both on account of the promulga- 
tion of the new code of laws, and of the death of 
Taaroarii, the king's only son, heir to the govern- 
ment in Huahine. It has been already mentioned 
that Taaroarii, in opposition to the will of his father 
and to the new laws, had suffered himself to be 
tatooed, for which he was tried and punished. Some 
months afterwards he injured himself, probably by 



236 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

over-exertion at the work appointed as a penalty for 
his crime, and it was not long before symptoms of 
consumption appeared. The means resorted to for 
his recovery proved unavailing, and after a short and 
distressing illness he expired. He was generally 
communicative and sometimes cheerful, except when 
the subject of religion was introduced. When this 
was done, he would attend to the remarks that were 
made, but seldom replied, and seemed unwilling to 
have the subject brought before him. This was the 
occasion of much grief to his friends, especially to 
his aged father. Long and anxiously did the afflicted 
parent wait for indications of different feelings, but, 
alas ! no voice of comfort fell upon his ears. Taaro- 
arii died apparently as he had lived, without the 
Christian hope. His death bed is strongly contrasted, 
by a missionary who visited him, with that of another 
youth of Huahine, who like Taaroarii was an only 
son. When this young convert saw his weeping 
parents standing by him, he collected his strength and 
rousing himself, said, " I am in pain, but I am not 
unhappy. Jesus Christ is with me and he supports 
me. We must part, but we shall not be parted long; 
in heaven we shall meet and never die. Father don't 
weep for me. Mother don't weep for me. We shall 
never die in heaven. " Thus died Teivaiva, who had 
sought religion while in health, and was cheered and 
supported by it in the hour of death. 

In January, 1822, Huahine was visited by Captain 
Gambier, to whom reference has been before made* 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 237 

" The sound of industry," says he, " was music to my 
ears. Hammers, saws, and adzes were heard in every 
direction. Houses in frame met the eye in all parts, 
in different stages of forwardness. Many boats were 
building and lime was burning for cement and white- 
wash. Upon walking through the district of Fare, 
we were very much pleased to see that a nice, dry, 
elevated footpath or causeway ran through it. We 
stopped occasionally to converse with some of the 
natives, who were standing near their huts. They 
said they were ashamed to invite us into them, but 
that their other house was building, and then they 
would be happy to see us. The queen and her 
daughter-in-law, dressed in the English fashion, 
received us in their neat little cottage. The furniture 
of her house was all made on the island by the natives, 
with a little instruction originally from the mission- 
aries. It consisted of sofas, with backs and arms, 
with cinet bottoms, really very well constructed ; 
tables and bedsteads by the same artificers. There 
were curtains to the windows made of white cloth, 
with dark leaves stained upon them for a border, 
which gave a cheerful and comfortable air to the 
rooms. The bed-rooms were up stairs, and were per- 
fectly clean and neat. These comforts they prize ex- 
ceedingly, and such is the desire for them that a great 
many cottages after the same plan are rising up every 
where in the village. Afterwards I walked out to 
the point, forming the division between the two bays. 
When I had reached it, I sat down to enjoy the sen- 



238 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

sations created by the lovely scene before me. I 
cannot describe it ; but it possessed charms inde- 
pendent of the beautiful scenery and rich vegetation. 
The blessings of Christianity were diffused among 
the fine people who inhabited it; a taste for indus- 
trious employment had taken deep root, a praiseworthy 
emulation to excel in the arts which contribute to their 
welfare and comfort had seized upon all, and in con- 
sequence civilization was advancing with rapid 
strides." 

In a letter from Mr. BarfF, dated November 30th, 
1829, he thus speaks of his station at Huahine. 
" The duties of the Sabbath continue, as usual, to 
form a prominent part of my labors. The services 
are attended by one thousand or fourteen hundred 
natives." In addition to the services of the Lord's 
day, two lectures were delivered during the week, and 
a catechetical exercise held on Monday evening, 
which all the church members were expected to attend. 
One evening in the week was spent by the missiona- 
ries in visiting the people from house to house. A 
society was formed for supplying the sick with articles 
of food and clothing. The improvement of the chil- 
dren was very encouraging. Twenty-five hundred 
copies of St. John's Gospel, two thousand copies of a 
hymn-book, and one thousand of the catechism, were 
printed during this year. In May, 1830, the anni- 
versary meeting of the missionary society was held at 
Huahine, and addresses were made by fifty-six 
natives. On the following day the children belonging 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 239 

to the schools were publicly examined. The number 
present was three hundred and seventy. About forty 
who excelled, received small rewards to encourage 
them in the pursuit of knowledge. After the exami- 
nation, a feast was prepared, of which the children all 
partook. During the year, but one case of church 
discipline occurred. Says Mr. Barff, " The great 
body of church members evince a growing attachment 
to the Saviour, and to his holy word and ordinances, 
whilst some others, who had nothing of Christianity 
but the name, have been carried away by the wicked 
conversation of visionaries." 

The following account of the missionary meeting 
at Raiatea and Tahaa is given by Captain Walde- 
grave, who visited those islands in 1830. " I had the 
gratification," says he, " of seeing the natives assem- 
bled together and their chiefs with them, bringing 
contributions of cocoanut oil and arrow-root, towards 
defraying the expense of sending native missionaries 
to other islands. The king took the chair, and reso- 
lutions were put and seconded, and the meeting 
was conducted with the same strict rule of decorum, 
as I have witnessed in Exeter Hall." 

The missionary stations in these islands continued 
in a prosperous state, until spirituous liquor was 
brought to Raiatea and Borabora; but the introduction 
of this article of commerce was followed by a long 
train of evils. Here, however, as in the other islands, 
temperance societies have been formed, and in all the 
stations the abandonment of the use of spirits has been 



240 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

attended with a revival of interest in the subject of 
religion. 

During the year 1837, the most happy effects were 
observable in the improved moral state of the people 
at Huahine. Numbers came forward and offered 
themselves as candidates for baptism, nearly all of 
whom were from that class who had lived in the 
practice of the most debasing vices. A considerable 
addition was also made to the church, chiefly from 
among the young. The schools were better attended 
by adults and children than in former years, and a 
desire for knowledge, particularly for religious knowl- 
edge, was much increased, among all classes. At 
Borabora also a great interest in religious things was 
manifested, and in 1838, more than one hundred 
members were admitted to church fellowship. 

In February, 1839, the missionaries at Huahine 
sustained a great loss in the death of Mahine the 
chief of that island. He was nearly eighty years of 
age, and from the time when he became a Christian 
he had been a steady, active, and consistent member 
of the church. For several years he had been a 
deacon, and had discharged the duties of that office 
with great faithfulness. He showed a sincere and 
strong attachment to the missionaries, and on several 
occasions hazarded his life in defence of the truth 
which they preached. In the prospect of death, he 
was calm and composed. In reply to one, who asked 
him how he felt, he said, " Christ is my resting 
place — the fear of death is removed — I have taken 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 241 

leave of all things here, and am waiting and praying 
for the Lord to take me." " Thus died Mahine," 
writes a missionary who was with him, " great as a 
heathen chief, and tile terror of the islands around ; 
but greater as a Christian, in humility, in faith, in 
diligence, in steadfastness, through grace, unto the 
end." 



16 



CHAPTER XII. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE AUSTRAL 
ISLANDS. 

Epidemic at Rurutu — Voyage of Auura— His return to Rurutu with 
Raiatean Teachers — Their reception— Gods delivered up to the 
Teachers— Improvement of the People— Shrewdness of the Teach- 
ers — Native Missionaries sent to Rimatara — Their success — Recep- 
tion of the Gospel at other Islands. 

When this group was discovered, its inhabitants, 
like those of the other South Sea Islands, were in a 
state of barbarism. In this condition they continued 
till the year 1821, when the Gospel was introduced 
under circumstances somewhat remarkable. In the 
latter part of the preceding year, Rurutu was visited 
by an epidemic which proved exceedingly fatal. As 
the natives considered this calamity as an evidence of 
the anger of their gods, they resorted to every means 
which they supposed would pacify them. Day after 
day prayers were offered, and gifts presented ; but 
the scourge still continued its ravages. Threatened 
with destruction, Auura, a young and enterprising 
chief, formed the project of flying from the evil 
spirit, and seeking safety in some less devoted island. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 243 

He communicated his design to some friends, who, 
thinking with himself that to remain would be inevi- 
table death, and that they could but die at sea, deter- 
mined to accompany him. All things having been pre- 
pared, Auura, his wife, and their companions, set sail 
and were soon out of sight of their native land. After 
a propitious voyage, they reached the island of Tubuai, 
about one hundred miles distant, where they expe- 
rienced great hospitality and kindness from the natives, 
and remained with them some time. At length, hoping 
that the plague was stayed, they concluded to return 
to their own island. On their voyage a storm drove 
them out of their course, and for three weeks they 
were drifted about at the mercy of the waves. Many 
of the crew died, and all suffered much from want of 
food and water. The storm at length abated and 
hope dawned upon the voyagers, as they discovered 
the high land of Huahine. Unable to trim their sails 
or steer their canoe, they were carried past the island 
within a few miles of the coast. Borne onward by 
the current, they successively passed the islands of 
Raiatea, Tahaa, and Borabora. Happily, however, 
another little island remained in sight. It was Mau- 
rua, the most westerly of the Society Islands. Hither 
they were driven, their canoe struck on the reef, and 
their progress was stayed. Had they not reached 
this island, they must have perished. The hospitality 
of the inhabitants soon restored the strength of the 
voyagers, who related the dreadful calamities which 
had befallen their country and themselves, ascribing 



244 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

them to the anger of the evil spirits. The Mauruans 
informed them that they formerly attributed every 
misfortune to the wrath of their deities, but that now 
they had renounced their idols and become worship- 
pers of Jehovah, the one living and true God. Con- 
ducting the strangers to the groves once regarded as 
sacred, they pointed in proof of their assertions to 
demolished temples, prostrate altars, and broken 
idols. Astonished at what they saw and heard, the 
strangers inquired the cause of all this. The Mau- 
ruans proceeded to give them an account of the 
manner in which Christianity had been introduced 
into their island, and informed them that white men, 
who had taught them these things, still lived in 
islands whose summits were in sight. The curiosity 
of the strangers to see these men, who had come from 
a distant country, was so great, that they determined 
to proceed immediately to Borabora in search of them. 
They accordingly set sail for that island, but missing 
the entrance to the harbor, Auura, his wife, and one or 
two others were conveyed to the shore by a boat which 
came off for the purpose. Nothing could exceed their 
astonishment, as they landed on the extensive coral 
pier or causeway, and passed through the settlement 
to the dwelling of the missionary. The remainder of 
the party proceeded to Raiatea, where they were soon 
joined by Auura and his wife. Here their wonder 
was again excited ; every thing was new and strange. 
The missionaries and their families, the European 
hats and bonnets of the natives, their neat white cot- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 245 

tages, the chapel, school-house, and the various useful 
arts which had been introduced, all filled the strangers 
with surprise and admiration. On the Sabbath they 
were conducted to the chapel, and beheld with aston- 
ishment the assembled multitude. The songs of 
praise in which the people joined, and the sermon 
from one of the missionaries, excited the deepest 
interest in their minds. They were at once con- 
vinced of the superiority of the Christian religion, 
and desired to be instructed in the knowledge of the 
true God. They became pupils in the school, and 
soon learned to read and spell correctly. Auura was 
exceedingly diligent in learning, and made very rapid 
progress. In a little more than three months he was 
able to read and write well, and had committed to 
memory the greater part of the catechism. 

Having publicly renounced their idols and pro- 
fessed themselves worshippers of Jehovah, the stran- 
gers became anxious to return to their own island, 
that they might carry to their countrymen the knowl- 
edge of the true God and of his Son Jesus Christ. 
No opportunity for accomplishing their wishes oc- 
curred, until a vessel bound for England touched at 
Raiatea. The captain, having been told their history 
and their wishes, readily agreed to land them on 
their native island. Auura and his friends were 
delighted with the prospect of returning to their 
country, but they objected to going to their " land of 
darkness without a light in their hand.' , Hastening 
to the missionaries, the chief earnestly requested 



246 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

them to send instructers to his native land. They 
accordingly assembled the people and inquired who 
among them would go as teachers to the heathen of 
Rurutu. Two of the native deacons, Mahamene and 
Puna, came forward and said, " Here are we ; send 
us." The night previous to their departure was 
spent in providing them with the necessary articles 
for their voyage. Every member of the church at 
Raiatea brought something as a testimony of his 
affection, one a razor, another a knife, a third a roll 
of native cloth, and a fourth a pair of scissors. They 
brought also paper, pens, ink, and a variety of useful 
tools, which they presented to the teachers.* The 
missionaries supplied them with elementary books 
and a few copies of the Gospel in the Tahitian lan- 
guage, from which their own does not essentially dif- 
fer. Thus equipped, the Raiatean Christians em- 
barked on the 5th of July, 1821, with Auura and his 
friends, and on the third day after their departure 
arrived at Rurutu. When the vessel had approached 
within a few miles of the land, Auura entered a boat 
and proceeded to the shore, where he was welcomed 
by the remnant of his countrymen. The tidings of 
his return soon spread through the island, and the 
whole population came to offer their congratulations. 
On the night of his arrival, Auura conveyed his own 
idol on board the ship in which he had returned, and 

* It should be remembered that these articles are of much 
greater value in the Islands than in America or Europe. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 247 

on the following day convened a meeting of his 
countrymen. In honor of the chief, they came 
arrayed in the dress and ornaments worn on public 
occasions, the warriors with their plumed helmets, 
and the chiefs with their curiously carved stones. 
The little band of Christians entered the assembly, 
and Auura, demanding attention, narrated the inci- 
dents of his voyage, and the islands he had visited. 
He especially informed them of the knowledge he 
had obtained respecting the true God, the destiny of 
man, and the means of happiness in a future state. 
He declared that the god whom they worshipped was 
the foundation of all deceit, that their idols were 
mere images, and their priests impostors. He there- 
fore proposed to his countrymen to follow his example 
by renouncing their false religion, and adopting that 
which would lead to immortality. The priests 
opposed this startling proposition, but the king and 
chiefs replied, " We will receive the word of life ; 
we will burn the evil spirits ; let every thing made by 
our hands as an object of worship be totally charred 
in the fire." An aged man, who had listened to 
Auura with deep interest, arose and said, " Behold 
you say, O Auura, that we have souls ; till now, 
we never knew that man possessed -a soul." The 
chief then introduced the two missionaries from Rai- 
atea, stated their object in coming to Rurutu, and 
recommended them to the kind attentions of the 
people. The missionaries then briefly addressed the 
meeting, and concluded by recommending to the 



248 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

chiefs to provide an entertainment the next day of a 
number of kinds of food, which were considered 
as sacred, and of which a female could not partake 
without instant death. The feast was accordingly 
prepared, and Auura, his wife, and friends, with the 
Raiatean Christians, unitedly partook of the sacred 
food. The chiefs and people stood around, expect- 
ing to see those who had thus openly violated the law 
of the gods either fall into convulsions, or expire in 
agony. But when they saw that no harm befel them, 
they simultaneously exclaimed, " The priests have 
deceived us," and hastening to their temples, they 
hurled the idols from the places they had so long 
occupied, burnt to the ground their sacred buildings, 
and then proceeded to the demolition of every marae 
in the island. 

About a month after this event, the boat which 
brought the native teachers returned to Raiatea, 
laden with the trophies of their victory, the gods of 
the Rurutuans. Thus did the reign of idolatry cease 
in Rurutu. 

In October, 1822, the island was visited by Messrs. 
Tyerman and Bennet, who were sent by the Directors 
of the Missionary Society to visit all the stations in 
the South Seas. Of Rurutu they remark, " When 
we reached it, we were not certain what island it was, 
but were greatly surprised to see several neat looking 
white houses at the head of the bay. From this, we 
concluded that the Gospel had reached its shores." 
The results of a little more than one year's exertion 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 249 

were surprising. Many had learned to read and some 
to write. The teachers had erected neat plastered 
dwellings for themselves, and under their direction, 
the people had built a chapel, eighty feet long and 
thirty-six feet wide. The railing around the table, in 
front of the pulpit and by the side of the stairs, was 
composed of the handles of warriors' spears. " The 
people here/' says a missionary, " learn war no more, 
but all, submitting to the Prince of peace, have cast 
away their instruments of cruelty with their idols." 

In 1823, Rurutu was visited by Mr. Williams. He 
found that the industry and improvement of the people 
had been progressive. " Many of the chiefs were 
dressed in European clothing, and all were attired in 
the most decent and becoming manner. In the house 
of God, no congregation could have behaved with 
more propriety— all was solemnity. Not a vestige of 
idolatry was to be seen, not a god was to be found in 
the island. So great a change, effected in so short a 
time, is almost beyond credibility ; but we witnessed 
it with our own eyes, and exclaimed, ' What hath God 
wrought ! '" * 

In 1825, the Falcon, a large American ship, com- 
manded by Captain Chase, was wrecked at Rurutu. 
The chief officer and crew remained some time on 
the island, and the Captain on his departure left the 
following testimony with the native teachers. " The 
natives gave us all the assistance in their power, from 

* Missionary Enterprises, p. 67 



250 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the time the ship struck to the present moment. The 
first day, while landing the things from the ship, they 
were put into the hands of the natives, and not a single 
article of clothing w 7 as taken from any man belonging 
to the ship, though they had it in their power to have 
plundered us of every thing. Since I have lived on 
shore, myself, officers, and people, have received the 
kindest treatment from the natives, for which I shall 
ever be thankful. Myself and officers have lived in the 
house of Puna, who, together with his wife, have paid 
every attention to make us comfortable ; for which I 
return my sincere thanks, being the only compensa- 
tion I can make them at present." 

Captain Chase afterwards rewarded the natives for 
the assistance they rendered in saving the cargo and 
stores of the vessel by giving them a portion of the 
oil. They immediately formed a native missionary 
society, and contributed a considerable part of the 
oil in aid of the funds of the Parent Society. It was 
afterwards sold for sixty-six pounds sterling, and the 
bills were presented to Mr. Williams, to be trans- 
mitted to the Society in London. 

On leaving Rurutu, Captain Chase committed the 
cargo and the stores of the vessel to the native teach- 
ers ; but as they were not acquainted with the relative 
value of money, he requested Mr. Williams to dispose 
of the property, when a good opportunity should 
occur, and to transmit the proceeds to America. 
Shortly afterwards a trading vessel arrived at Tahiti, 
and the Captain, hearing of the wreck of the Falcon, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 251 

and knowing that there were only native missionaries 
on the island, supposed he could deceive them and 
obtain the property. He therefore proceeded to 
Rurutu, and stated to the teachers, that he had come 
for the oil belonging to the Falcon. The missiona- 
ries asked him if he had an order for it. " Cer- 
tainly," replied the Captain, " but I have come from 
my ship without it. I will go for it immediately." 
He soon returned with a forged order, which he pre- 
sented to the missionary. The native looked first at 
the paper and then at the Captain, and said, " You 
a liar, you a thief, you want to steal this property, 
you no have it." The Captain, much enraged at 
being disappointed of his booty, threatened to go on 
board, load his cannon, and take the oil by force. 
The teacher took him by the hand, and, leading him 
into his house, opened his journal, in which he had 
taken the precaution to get Captain Chase to write. 
Placing the forged paper by the side of the writing in 
his journal, he repeated, " You a liar, you a thief, 
you shall not have this property." The Captain 
returned in anger to his vessel, but departed without 
injuring the missionaries. 

This circumstance shows that the natives are not 
deficient in good sense, and it also exhibits in a strik- 
ing light the advantages which the people have deriv- 
ed from education. 

In 1829, this island was again visited by Mr. 
Williams, who found, that the people, although their 
teachers had left them, continued to observe all their 



252 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

religious services, and that Auura officiated as min- 
ister. During the previous year, they had contributed 
to the Missionary Society 750 bamboos of cocoanut- 
oil. They earnestly requested that another teacher 
might be sent them, saying that " one-handed people 
were very good, but that two-handed people were 
much better." 

On the return of Auura to his native island, he 
found there a number of the inhabitants of Rimatara. 
These followed the example of the Rurutuans in 
destroying their idols and receiving Christian in- 
struction. They shortly afterward sailed for their 
own island, and induced many of their countrymen 
to abandon their idols. 

In June, 1822, two native Christians were sent 
from Borabora, to instruct the inhabitants of Rimatara 
in reading, writing, and the first elements of religion. 
These teachers labored with so much diligence and 
success that, when the island was visited by Mr. 
Williams in October, 1828, the inhabitants had re- 
nounced their idols, and were living in harmony with 
their teachers. A chapel had been erected for the 
worship of the true God, which was opened during 
Mr. Williams's visit. The females were neatly dressed 
in white native cloth, with bonnets which the teachers' 
wives had taught them to make. The entire popu- 
lation were receiving instruction, and the school for 
children contained one hundred and thirty scholars. 
In 1825, Rimatara was visited by Mr. Bourne, who 
v/as delighted with the appearance of the station and 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 353 

the improvement of the people, especially of some 
who were advanced in years. The last accounts 
from this island state that the people continue to 
improve in religious knowledge, and that the arts are 
beginning to be introduced among them. 

Raivavai was visited in 1819 by Pomare, the king 
of Tahiti. On his departure, he left a man as a 
kind of political agent, who also endeavored to teach 
some of the natives to read. In January, 1821, 
Captain Henry, commanding a vessel belonging to 
Pomare II., touched at this island. It was the 
Sabbath when he arrived, and on landing he found 
the inhabitants preparing to assemble for public 
worship. In a letter from Captain Henry to the 
missionaries at Raiatea, he says, " Each individual 
on entering the church kneeled down, and uttered a 
short prayer." In regard to their deportment, he 
further observes, "The very quiet, devout, and orderly 
manner in which they conducted themselves, not only 
in church but during the Sabbath, excited my highest 
admiration." Though the knowledge of the indi- 
vidual left by Pomare was very limited, and his 
conduct immoral, the people had paid such attention 
to his instructions, that the renunciation of idolatry 
had become general throughout the island. The 
people wore desirous to be further instructed in 
religion, and requested that suitable teachers might 
be sent to them. 

In 1822, three native missionaries from Eimeo 
were sent to P^aivavai, who have proved valuable 



254 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

assistants. In 1825, this island was visited by Messrs. 
Tyerman and Bennet. They found that two large 
houses for public worship had been erected, and that 
the desire for instruction was universal. In J 826, a 
Christian church was formed among this people, and 
sixteen persons, after examination, were admitted to 
its privileges. Although the island has since been 
visited with a contagious epidemic which destroyed 
a great portion of the people, the number has recently 
increased. 

The inhabitants of the neighboring island of Tu- 
buai, hearing that the people of Rurutu and other 
islands had renounced their idols and embraced 
Christianity, became anxious to be instructed in the 
new religion. They accordingly sent a deputation 
to Tahiti, requesting teachers and books. Their 
messengers were kindly received by the Christians in 
Tahiti, and two native teachers having been selected 
for the purpose, and furnished with a supply of useful 
articles, embarked, in June, 1822, for the island of 
Tubuai, accompanied by Mr. Nott. The object of 
this missionary was to preach to the people, and 
assist the native teachers in the commencement of 
their labors. On arriving at Tubuai, they found the 
whole population engaged in war and on the eve of 
a battle. They therefore went immediately to the 
encampment of the king, acquainted him with the 
design of their visit, and requested that hostilities 
might be suspended. The king expressed a willing- 
ness to accede to their proposal, provided the consent 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 255 

of the opposing party could be obtained. A chief hav- 
ing been despatched with a message of peace, his pro- 
posal was accepted, and a time appointed for the chiefs 
to meet midway between the hostile parties, and 
arrange the conditions of peace. The next morning, 
the two parties, headed by their chiefs, proceeded to 
the appointed place of meeting. Having come within 
fifty yards of each other, they halted. The chiefs 
then left their respective bands and met each other. 
They were attended by the missionaries, and after 
several propositions had been made by one party and 
acceded to by the other, peace was concluded. The 
chiefs then embraced each other, and the warriors, 
perceiving the reconcilation of their leaders, dropped 
their implements of war, and rushing into each other's 
arms, presented a scene of joy, far different from the 
conflict in which they expected to be engaged. They 
repaired in company to the residence of one of the 
chiefs, where an entertainment was provided. Here 
the missionaries had another interview with the chiefs, 
who welcomed them to the island, and expressed their 
desires to be instructed in the " new religion." The 
next day, the inhabitants of Tubuai were invited to 
attend public worship, when Mr. Nott delivered the 
first Christian discourse to which they had ever lis- 
tened. How gratifying must it have been to behold 
those, who only the day before were on the point of 
shedding each other's blood, now sitting side by side, 
listening to the tidings of salvation ! 

In 1626, this island was visited by Mr. Davies, 



256 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

who found that an epidemic had prevailed here and 
swept off many of the people. The profession of 
Christianity had become general throughout the 
island, and the chiefs and people were assisting the 
teachers in erecting comfortable dwellings, and a 
substantial house for public worship. 

In the year 1825, Rapa was visited by a vessel 
from Tahiti, which on its return carried two of the 
inhabitants to that island. On their first arrival, they 
appeared timid ; but the kindness of the missionaries 
and the natives soon inspired them with confidence. 
They were astonished and delighted at the strange 
objects presented to their notice. The European 
families, the houses, the gardens, and the animals, 
all filled them with wonder. Having attended the 
schools and places of public worship, and learned 
the alphabet, they soon after returned to their own 
island, accompanied by two Tahitians, who were 
sent to gain information in regard to their country 
and the disposition of the natives. During their 
residence at Rapa, the inhabitants became so much 
attached to them, that they were invited by the chiefs 
and people to reside among them permanently. In 
January, 1826, two Tahitian teachers with their 
wives, accompanied by a schoolmaster and a mechanic, 
sailed from Tahiti for Rapa. They carried with 
them not only spelling-books and copies of the 
Tahitian translation of the Scriptures, but also a 
variety of useful tools, seeds, and plants, together with 
timber for a chapel. Mr. Davies, one of the senior 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 257 

missionaries at Tahiti, accompanied the teachers to 
their new station. The chiefs received them with 
every mark of respect, and promised them protection 
and aid. On the first Sabbath after their arrival, 
Mr. Davies preached in the Tahitian language to a 
number of the natives, who seemed impressed with 
the services. This island was visited in 1829 by 
two missionaries, who found that four chapels, in 
which religious instruction was statedly given, had 
been erected at different stations. The people mani- 
fested an increasing interest in religious things, and 
their improvement exceeded the expectations of their 
visiters. 

The facts which have been stated in this chapter, 
respecting the inhabitants of the Austral Islands, are 
fitted to excite in every Christian mind the liveliest 
interest in their welfare. It is therefore much to be 
regretted, that the monthly publication of the London 
Missionary Society furnishes no recent accounts of 
the condition of religion in this group. 



17 



CHAPTER XIII. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE HERVEY 
ISLANDS. 

Teachers sent to Aitutaki — Efforts to enlighten the natives— Effect of 
the arrival of a ship — Subversion of idolatry — Pleasing 1 change at 
Aitutaki — Missionary sufferings — Teachers left at Mangaia — their 
treatment by the natives— Second effort to introduce the Gospel — 
Its success — Renunciation of idolatry — Notice of Romatane — Gos- 
pel sent to Mauke — Testimony of Lord Byron — Discovery of 
Rarotonga — Reception of Christianity — First idol burnt — Over- 
throw of idolatry — Chapel built — 3Ir. Bourne's visit and remarks. 

In the year 1821, some of the missionaries at the 
Society Islands, impressed with the importance of 
extending the Gospel to the neighboring groups, re- 
solved to attempt the introduction of Christianity 
into the Hervey Islands. Mr. Williams, with two 
native Christians, Papeiha and Vahapata, who were 
intended to be placed as teachers on the island of 
Aitutaki, sailed from Raiatea for this purpose. On 
the day of their departure, the two natives were set 
apart to their office in an interesting religious ser- 
vice. 

On the arrival of the vessel at Aitutaki, it was sur- 
rounded by canoes. The natives were exceedingly 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 259 

noisy, and exhibited in their persons and manners 
all the features of savage life. Some were tattooed 
from head to foot; some were fantastically painted 
with pipe-clay and red and yellow ochre ; others were 
smeared with charcoal, dancing, shouting, and gestur- 
ing in the most frantic manner. The chief Tamatoa 
was invited on board the vessel, and was followed by 
a number of his people. The language of these 
islands so much resembled that of Raiatea, that 
Mr. Williams found he could readily make himself 
understood. When he informed the chief that idola- 
try was abolished in the Georgian and Society Islands, 
Tamatoa inquired very significantly where great Tan- 
garoa was. Mr. Williams replied that he and all the 
other gods had been burned. He then asked where 
Koro of Raiatea was. " He is," said Mr. Williams, 
" consumed with fire," and he added that he had 
brought two teachers to instruct him and his people 
in the knowledge of the true God, that they might 
be induced to abandon and destroy their idols, as the 
inhabitants of other islands had done. The teachers 
were then introduced to the chief, who invited them 
to accompany him to the shore. To this they agreed, 
and proposed to settle on the island. On hearing 
this, he seized the teachers with delight, and saluted 
them most cordially by rubbing noses. Their little 
stores were soon collected, and the natives having 
received them in the chief's large canoe, paddled off 
to the land, apparently delighted with their treasure. 
On landing, the teachers were taken to the maraes 



260 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

and formally dedicated to the service of the gods. 
They immediately commenced their labors, and tried 
in various ways to benefit the people. But they met 
with many discouragements, especially during a war 
that broke out soon after, in which all their property 
was stolen. Having resolved at length to make a 
tour through the island, they visited every district, 
conversed with the people, and taught them the alpha- 
bet and the Lord's prayer. In one district, they held 
an argument with an old priest, in the presence of a 
multitude of people, respecting the creation of the 
world, The priest was finally silenced by their argu- 
ments, and the teachers embraced the opportunity to 
address the people on the being of God, affirming 
that he existed before the foundation of the world. 
They next spoke of the angels, and of the fall of one 
portion of them from their original happiness. AH 
this was entirely new to the people and they mani- 
fested the deepest interest in the relation, crying out, 
if the slightest noise was made, " Be still, be still, let 
us hear." The teachers then gave an account of the 
creation of the world and of Adam and Eve, described 
the situation of our first parents in the garden of 
Eden, their transgression, with its consequences, and 
the love of God in giving his Son to die for men. 
On hearing these things, they exclaimed with one ac- 
cord, •" Surely this is the truth, our religion is all 
deceit." From that time many began to listen atten- 
tively, and to believe what they heard, and the con- 
verts to Christianity gradually increased. At times, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 261 

however, they suffered much from the persecutions of 
their heathen countrymen. 

When Mr. Williams left Papeiha and Vahapata at 
Aitutaki, he promised to send them books and letters 
by a ship which he expected would stop at the island 
to inquire after their welfare. As many months had 
passed away and no ship appeared, the natives began 
to ridicule the teachers, calling them "Two logs of 
drift-wood, washed on shore by the waves of the 
ocean," and said that no ship would ever come to 
inquire after them. At length, however, the promised 
ship arrived, laden with a variety of useful articles 
for the teachers, and axes and various other things as 
presents for the people. Among these were a num- 
ber of pigs and goats, which the teachers gave to the 
king's grandfather, who on the following day dis- 
tributed them among the chiefs. The arrival of the 
vessel, and the reception of the presents produced a 
powerful impression among the people in favor of 
Christianity. " Behold," said they, " we called these 
men drift-wood, and they have rich friends, who have 
sent an English ship to inquire after them, and bring 
them property, such as we never saw before ! We 
ridiculed and called them liars, and behold they are 
men of truth." Soon after this event, a general wish 
was expressed by the people to renounce heathenism 
and place themselves under Christian instruction. 
The grandfather of the young king, however, was 
firm in his determination to adhere to his heathen 
superstitions, and as he was at that time in the midst 



262 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

of an idolatrous festival of several weeks' continuance, 
he resolved to remain at the marae and complete the 
sacred ceremonies. While he was thus engaged, a 
beloved daughter was taken dangerously ill. Offer- 
ings were immediately presented to the gods ; and to 
induce them to restore the child to health, their favor 
was invoked from morning till evening. The disease, 
however, increased and the girl died. The old chief, 
incensed at the ingratitude of the gods in requiting 
his zeal with such unkindness, determined at once to 
abandon them, and the next day sent his son to set 
fire to his marae. Two other maraes near it took 
fire and were also consumed. On the Sabbath, after 
the death of the chief's daughter, the people of seve- 
ral districts brought their idols to the teachers, and 
professed themselves worshippers of Jehovah. Others 
followed their example, and at the close of the week 
there was not a professed idolater on the island. 
Fifteen months after the arrival of the teachers at 
Aitutaki, a general meeting of the inhabitants was 
convened at the request of Papeiha. In an address 
to the assembly, he spoke of the immense labor they 
formerly bestowed in the erection of their maraes 
and in the worship of their gods, and exhorted them 
to let their " strength, devotedness, and steadfastness 
in the service of the true God far exceed." He then 
proposed that all the maraes in the island should be 
burned, and the idols be brought to him that he 
might send them to Raiatea, and also that they should 
immediately commence building a house for tho 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 263 

worship of Jehovah. To both these proposals the 
multitude assented. At the close of the meeting, a 
general conflagration of the maraes took place, and 
on the following morning not a single temple re- 
mained. The whole population then came in pro- 
cession, district after district, the chief and the priest 
leading the way, and the people following them, leav- 
ing their rejected idols, which they laid at the teach- 
er's feet, and received in return copies of the Gospels 
and elementary books. The missionaries at Raiatea 
hearing of the success of the native teachers at Aitu- 
taki, resolved to visit them and to attempt the intro- 
duction of the Gospel into every island of that group. 
In July, 1823, Messrs. Bourne and Williams, with six 
natives who had been solemnly set apart as teachers, 
sailed from Raiatea, and after a pleasant passage of 
five days, arrived at Aitutaki. A number of canoes 
filled with men crowded around the vessel, saluting 
the missionaries with such expressions as these, 
" Good is the Word of God ; it is now well with 
Aitutaki ! The good word has taken root at Aituta- 
ki." The teachers soon came on board and informed 
Mr. Williams of the destruction of the idols and 
temples, and added that the Sabbath was regarded as 
a sacred day, that all the people attended divine ser- 
vice, and that family prayer was very general through- 
out the island. The missionaries having entered the 
boat, the natives gathered around it to pull it to shore; 
" In doing which," says Mr. Williams, "they amused 
and delighted us ; for instead of the unsightly ges- 



264 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

ticulations and lascivious songs with which I was 
greeted on ray first visit, some were now spelling 
long words, and others were repeating portions of the 
catechism, or a prayer; another asking a blessing on 
his food ; and others singing a verse of a hymn ; 
indeed, every one appeared anxious to show what 
progress he had made in the new religion/' 

On the day after the arrival of the missionaries, 
the new chapel, built after the model of that at Raia- 
tea, was opened. It was nearly two hundred feet in 
length, and about thirty wide. A neat, well-built, 
plastered cottage had also been erected for the teach- 
ers, and many others were in progress. Bedsteads 
had been made and hung with curtains of native cloth, 
in imitation of their teachers, and improvement was 
everywhere perceptible. " Eighteen months ago," 
says Mr. Williams, " they were the wildest people I 
had ever seen ; now they had become mild and docile, 
diligent and kind." 

Aitutaki was subsequently visited by several Eng- 
lish missionaries, who gave the most pleasing ac- 
counts of the progress of the Gospel in that island. 
Hearing of the manner in which Christians in Eng- 
land raised funds to send the Gospel to the heathen, 
the natives expressed regret that having no money 
they could not aid in the good work of " causing the 
word of God to grow." It was suggested to them 
that each family might set apart a pig for that pur- 
pose, which, on the arrival of a ship, could be sold 
for money. This proposition was unanimously ap- 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 265 

proved, and the next morning the whole settlement 
resounded with the cries of the consecrated animals, 
who were receiving in their ears the missionary 
mark. They were afterwards sold for =£103, and the 
money sent to England. 

As there were at Aitutaki several natives from the 
adjacent island of Rarotonga, who had embraced the 
Gospel, and were anxious to return to their own 
island with teachers, Messrs. Williams and Bourne 
resolved to go in search of it and if possible, to 
commence a station. They had heard from the 
natives of Raiatea many traditionary accounts of 
Rarotonga, but were unacquainted with its situation. 
Taking with them Papeiha, one of the teachers, and 
the Rarotongans whom they found at Aitutaki, they 
set sail from that island. Having spent six or eight 
days in an unsuccessful search for Rarotonga, they 
steered for Mangaia. On reaching this island, they 
descried a number of the natives on the beach waving 
a white flag, which, in the islands of the Pacific, is a 
signal for friendly intercourse. A boat was lowered 
from the vessel with Papeiha and two other teachers, 
who approached the shore and conversed with the 
natives. Though armed with spears and stones in 
their slings, ready to defend their island against an 
expected invasion, when told by Papeiha that the 
strangers were peaceably disposed, the islanders tied 
their spears and slings into bundles, and received him 
in a friendly manner. He then stated to the chiefs and 
people their object in coming among them, and that 



266 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

they had brought two teachers and their wives, whom 
it was their wish to leave with them. The people 
told him they should be glad to receive instruction, 
and requested that he would go to the vessel and 
bring the teachers immediately. Papeiha returned 
to the ship and informed Mr. Williams of all that 
had taken place, and added that he thought they were 
an inoffensive people, and that no danger was to be 
apprehended from them. The two teachers and their 
wives got into a boat, and taking with them a supply 
of clothing and other necessaries, rowed fearlessly to 
the shore. No sooner, however, had they landed, 
than they were seized, and there was a general rush 
to get possession of their property. One of the 
teachers had a saw, which was grasped by the natives, 
broken into pieces, and the fragments tied to their 
ears as ornaments. Of the bedsteads, one took one 
part, another another, and ran off with his booty. A 
number of bamboos of cocoanut-oil were landed, 
which the natives poured so profusely on each other's 
heads, that their bodies glistened in the sun. Two 
pigs had been sent on shore, animals they had never 
before seen. These were taken by a chief, who 
decorated them with his own garments, and carried 
them to the gods. The teachers and their wives 
w r ere stripped of nearly all their clothing, their hats 
and bonnets were torn from their heads, and they 
themselves suffered much from ill treatment. Mr. 
Williams, witnessing the reception which they had 
met with, immediately sent a boat on shore to bring 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 267 

back the teachers, whose appearance was truly deplo- 
rable. Papeiha upbraided the chief with his perfidy 
in inviting them on shore, and then suffering them 
to be abused. He also told him that they, like him- 
self and his people, were formerly ignorant of the 
true God and the way of salvation through Jesus 
Christ ; but that they had received instruction from 
English Christians, and that they desired to impart 
the knowledge they had received to others. The 
chief wept and assured him of his sorrow, but said 
that in his island, " all heads being of an equal 
height," his influence alone could not protect them ; 
and therefore, though he wished them to stay, he 
advised them not to come on shore again. A few 
months after these events, another opportunity 
occurred to send teachers to Mangaia, and two single 
men, Davida and Tiere, offered to go and attempt to 
introduce the Gospel. On landing at the island, they 
took nothing with them except the dress which they 
wore, and a portion of the New Testament in the 
Tahitian language carefully wrapt up and tied on 
their heads. Contrary to their expectations, they 
were kindly received by the inhabitants. An ex- 
ceedingly fatal disease having broken out on the 
island, soon after the departure of the teachers whom 
they had abused, they ascribed it to the anger of the 
" God of the strangers/ 5 and made a vow that " if 
he would suspend the execution of his vengeance and 
conduct his worshippers again to their island, they 
would receive them kindly and give them food to 



268 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

eat." The natives were in this state of mind when 
Davida and Tiere arrived among them. 

In May, 1830, Mangaia was visited by Mr. Wil- 
liams, who found the people in a state of improve- 
ment far exceeding his expectations. A large chapel 
had been built, and a number of neat white houses 
erected for themselves and their teachers, by the 
natives who had embraced Christianity. An excel- 
lent road had been made through the settlement, on 
each side of which stood the cottages of the natives. 
The females were dressed in white native cloth, and 
bonnets which they had been taught to make by the 
wife of a Raiatean, who had been sent as a teacher 
to the Navigators' Islands, but was left at Mangaia 
at the earnest solicitations of the inhabitants. Tiere, 
one of the first missionaries, died about two years 
and a half after his arrival at Mangaia ; but both he 
and his companion had labored so successfully, that 
many had embraced Christianity, and on Mr. Wil- 
liams's arrival about five hundred were receiving 
Christian instruction. Many of the people, however, 
were still heathen, and gave the Christians much 
annoyance by the performance of their dances and 
other idolatrous ceremonies. A battle was at length 
fought between the Christians and the heathen, 
which terminated in favor of the former, and gave 
them a decided advantage. In 1831, Mr. Williams 
again visited Mangaia. Finding that notwithstand- 
ing the efforts of the teachers, great numbers of the 
heathen remained obstinately attached to idolatry, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 269 

he determined to visit them at the different stations, 
and address them on the subject of religion. He was 
received with great respect and listened to with 
attention, but could not succeed in persuading the 
chiefs to renounce idolatry. In the latter part of the 
year 1833, also, Mr. Williams, while on a voyage to 
Aitutaki, was driven out of his course and obliged to 
put in at Mangaia. He learned from the teachers 
that the heathen party, wishing to prevent the further 
spread of Christianity, had resolved to make war on 
the following day, against all who professed the new 
religion. In order, if possible, to prevent this, Mr. 
Williams determined to visit every heathen settle- 
ment in the island, to converse with the chiefs, and to 
endeavor to dissuade them from their purpose. He 
was successful, and a general impression seemed to 
be made in favor of Christianity. Hitherto, many 
who desired to place themselve under Christian 
instruction, had been deterred by the example and 
command of their chiefs. Now, however, the chiefs 
consented that any of the people who were disposed 
to do so, should remove to the Christian settlement 
and place themselves under instruction. Many im- 
mediately availed themselves of this permission, and 
in the end the greater part of the heathen followed 
their example. Although the Gospel at first met 
with much opposition in this island, there are now no 
idolaters remaining. 

When Mr. Williams left Mangaia after his visit in 
1823, he proceeded to Atiu, where two native teach- 



270 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

ers had been sent from Tahiti two or three months 
before. He found them in a most pitiable condition. 
They had been stripped by the natives of all their 
property, had suffered exceedingly from hunger, and 
become very much disheartened by their want of 
success. As the vessel approached the island, a large 
double canoe came off from the shore, containing 
Romatane the principal chief. He immediately 
came on board and entered into conversation with a 
converted native of Aitutaki, whom Mr. Williams 
had brought from that island. The convert informed 
Romatane of the change that had taken place in 
Aitutaki, and of the burning of the maraes and idols. 
Taking the astonished chieftain into the hold of the 
vessel, he exhibited to him the gods of the Aituta- 
kians, which Mr. Williams was conveying to Raiatea. 
The chief remained on board during the night, and 
the next day being the Sabbath, he attended worship. 
Mr. W 7 illiams commented upon what is said by David 
and Isaiah in reference to idols, by which the mind 
of Romatane was powerfully impressed ; especially 
by the words, <l With part thereof he roasteth roast 
and is satisfied ; and the residue thereof he maketh a 
god, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and 
saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god." The effect 
of this striking passage of Scripture on the mind of 
the heathen chief, was powerfully expressed by the 
language in which it was uttered. There are in that 
language two words, similar in sound but expressing 
opposite ideas, moa and noa, the former meaning 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 271 

sacred, and the latter profane or common. All that 
pertains to the gods is the superlative of moa, and all 
that relates to food the superlative of noa. The chief 
now saw for the first time the folly of making a god 
and cooking food from the same tree, thus uniting 
two opposite extremes, the moa and the noa. For 
some time he appeared lost in wonder. At length he 
retired, and spent the whole of the night in conversa- 
tion with the Aitutakians about the wonderful truths 
he had heard, frequently rising up and stamping with 
astonishment that he should have been so long 
deluded. His idol gods he determined never again 
to worship. " Eyes, it is true," said he, " they have, 
but wood cannot see ; ears they have, but wood can- 
not hear." He expressed a determination to demolish 
his maraes, to burn his idols, and to commence im- 
mediately the erection of a house for the worship of 
Jehovah. Leaving Atiu, Mr. Williams sailed in 
search of the two small islands Mitiaro and Mauke, 
taking with him the newly converted Rornatane, who 
was king of those islands also. On arriving at Miti- 
aro, the king had an interview with the resident 
chief of the island, to whom he stated that the object 
of his visit was to exhort him and his people to burn 
their maraes, and abandon the worship of their false 
gods. He wished also that they would place them- 
selves under the instruction of a Christian teacher, 
and convert the house they were erecting for himself 
into a house of prayer. The people listened with 
astonishment, and inquired if the gods would not all 



272 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

be enraged and strangle them. " No," replied the 
king, " it is out of the power of the wood, that we 
have adorned and called a god, to kill us. 5 ' They 
asked the king if he would not come to the celebra- 
tion of the great festival, which he had ordered them 
to prepare. He replied, " I shall come to behold 
your steadfastness in this good work, and your kind- 
ness to the teacher you have received." 

Sailing from Mitiaro, Mr. Williams proceeded to 
Mauke, where he found the people waiting on the 
shore to welcome their king. The first words of 
Romatane were, " I am come to advise you to receive 
the word of Jehovah, the true God, and to leave with 
you a teacher and his wife who will instruct you. 
Let us destroy our maraes, and burn all the evil 
spirits with fire : never let us worship them again. 
They are wood, which we have carved and decorated, 
and called gods. Here is the true God and his word, 
and a teacher to instruct you. The true God is 
Jehovah, and the true sacrifice is his Son Jesus 
Christ." The people listened with astonishment, 
but said, that as the king assured them it was a 
" good word" which he brought, they would receive 
it. They inquired of the king, when they might 
expect him to celebrate a festival they were preparing 
for him. He replied that all th r customs connected 
with the worship of their false gods should now be 
abandoned, but that he would visit them again to 
behold their steadfastness, and their love for their 
teachers. It was determined to leave here a native 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 273 

teacher with his wife, to whom the king presented a 
new house which had been erected for himself, and 
commending them to the care of the chief, he returned 
to the vessel and shortly afterwards departed. Thus 
were these three islands converted from idolatry in 
an incredibly short time — islands almost unknown, 
and two of them never visited by any European 
vessel. 

Mauke was next visited by the frigate Blonde, 
commanded by Captain Lord Byron, in 1825. He 
says, " The whole population assembled to greet us. 
Each individual of this numerous assembly pressed 
forward to shake hands, and seemed unhappy till this 
sign of friendship had passed ; this ceremony being 
over, they conducted us towards their habitations, 
which were about two miles inland. Our path lay 
through a thick shady wood, on the skirts of which, 
in a small open space, two handsome canoes, each 
eighty feet long, were building. The road was 
rough over the fragments of coral, but it wound 
agreeably through the grove, which improved in 
beauty as we advanced ; and at length to our surprise 
and pleasure, terminated in a beautiful green lawn, 
where were two of the prettiest white-washed cot- 
tages imaginable — the dwellings of the missionaries. 
We were exceedingly struck with the appearance of 
elegance and cleanliness of all around us, as well as 
with the modest and decorous behaviour of the 
people, especially the women." Of his visit to the 
church, he thus speaks. " It stands on rising ground, 
18 



274 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

about four hundred yards from the cottages. Its 
form is oval, and the roof is supported by four pillars, 
which bear up the ridge. It is capable of containing 
two hundred persons. The pulpit and reading-desk 
are neatly carved and painted with a variety of pretty 
designs, and the benches for the people are arranged 
neatly around. Close to the church is the burying- 
place, which is a mound of earth covered with green 
sward ; and the whole has an air of modest simplicity, 
which delighted, no less than surprised us." Atiu 
was visited in 1822, by Messrs. Tyerman and Bennet, 
who learned as soon as they had landed that the 
whole population had renounced their idols, and had 
built a large chapel for the worship of God. 

The Gospel had now been introduced into five of 
the Hervey Islands, but Rarotonga, the largest island 
of the group, remained undiscovered. Mr. Williams 
inquired of Romatane if he had ever heard of it, and 
learning from this chief the direction in which it lay, 
he determined to go again in search of it. He sailed 
on this voyage in 1823, and after having been so 
long tossed about by contrary winds as to be on the 
point of giving up all hope of accomplishing his 
object, he was at last delighted with the sight of the 
lofty mountains and beautiful valleys of this lovely 
island. A boat was soon sent on shore with Papeiha, 
another teacher, and one of the Rarotongans whom 
Mr. Williams had found at Aitutaki. Meeting with 
a favorable reception, they immediately stated to the 
people, who gathered around them in great numbers, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 275 

the object of their visit. Having informed them of 
the renunciation of idolatry at the other islands of 
that group, the teachers proposed to the natives that 
they also should receive Christian instruction, and 
become acquainted with the way of salvation through 
Jesus Christ. The proposition was agreed to, and 
Makea the king came on board to conduct the teach- 
ers to the shore. He was introduced to his own 
people who had come with Mr. Williams, among 
whom was his cousin. Early the next morning the 
teachers and their wives came off to the vessel in a 
most pitiable condition, and related the sad treatment 
which they, and especially the females, had received 
during the night. A powerful chief who had con- 
quered the principal part of the island had heard of 
their arrival, and had come with a large retinue to 
take away one of the female teachers for the pur- 
pose of making her his wife. He had already nine- 
teen wives, and the teacher was to be the twentieth. 

Tapaireu, the cousin of Makea, was a person of 
much influence, and to her exertions the preservation 
of the females was owing. Discouraged by the 
roughness of their reception, the teachers would have 
abandoned this field of labor had not Papeiha, when 
the chiefs expressed a desire that they should stay, 
offered to remain alone on the island on condition 
that his friend Tiberio should be sent from Raiatea to 
his assistance. This was readily promised, and 
Papeiha after taking leave of his friends got into a 
canoe and went on shore carrying nothing with him 



276 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

but the clothes he wore, his native Testament, and a 
bundle of elementary books. When he had landed, 
the six natives of Rarotonga who had embraced the 
Christian religion at Aitutaki promised to adhere to 
him, and to maintain their profession among their 
heathen countrymen. 

Papeiha was conducted to the house of Makea, and 
was followed by an immense crowd, one of whom 
cried out, "I'll have his hat;" another, "I'll have his 
jacket;" a third, " I'll have his shirt." Before they 
were able to carry their threats into execution they 
were met by the chief, who addressing Papeiha, said, 
" Speak to us, O man ! that we may know the busi- 
ness on which you are come." The teacher replied 
that he had come to instruct them in the knowledge 
of the true God and the way of salvation through 
Jesus Christ, that they might burn their idols as the 
inhabitants of Tahiti and other islands had done. 
The multitude cried out with surprise and horror, 
" What ! burn the gods ! what gods shall we then 
have, and what shall we do without the gods ? " 
Shortly after the arrival of Papeiha, the chief of a 
certain district invited him to visit him that he might 
teach him something about Jehovah and Jesus Christ. 
This invitation Papeiha gladly accepted and having 
explained the leading doctrines of the Gospel he 
pointed out to him the temporal and spiritual advan- 
tages he would derive from the reception of Christian- 
ity. The chief was considerably impressed with these 
representations, and after meditating on the subject 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 277 

said that he felt greatly disposed to burn his gods, but 
feared they would become enraged and strangle him. 
He was assured by the teacher that he had nothing 
to apprehend, as the gods were destitute of any real 
power. Papeiha and his friends having engaged in 
prayer retired to rest. Tinomana the chief brought 
his mat and placing it by the side of the teacher told 
him that he had come to be taught to pray to Jehovah. 
Papeiha commenced a short prayer which the chief 
repeated after him, till at length overcome with fatigue 
the teacher fell asleep. But he was soon awaked by 
the chief with " I've forgotten it, go over it again." 
This was repeated several times during the night. 
The next morning Papeiha returned to the district in 
which the king resided, accompanied part of the way 
by the chief, who many times during the walk recited 
the prayer which he had learned. 

Another opportunity was soon after afforded 
Papeiha for bearing his testimony to the truth, in the 
presence of a multitude of heathen who had assembled 
at a marae, to offer a great quantity of food to the 
gods. Many priests pretending to be inspired were 
shouting, and gesturing among worshippers who 
presented a strange and ludicrous appearance. 
Advancing into the midst of this assembly Papeiha 
began to address them on the folly of offering food to 
a piece of wood which they had carved and called a 
god. A priest hearing this rose up and said that 
theirs was a real and powerful god and that the feast 
they were celebrating was very sacred. Papeiha 



278 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

replied that the day was not far distant when the true 
God would show them the folly of idolatry and make 
their false gods " fuel for the fire." Great confusion 
followed this declaration, but the people listened very 
attentively while he described the love of God in 
giving his Son to die for sinners. They began to 
exhibit much interest and asked many questions about 
God and the place of his residence. 

Five months had Papeiha labored unremittingly 
when Tiberio his colleague from Raiatea arrived. 
Encouraged and aided by his companion he deter- 
mined to visit all the influential chiefs in the island, 
to explain to them the principles of Christianity and 
at the same time to point out the advantages which 
would result from a renunciation of idolatry. In 
carrying this plan into effect, at some places they 
were kindly treated, at others ridiculed, while from 
some they narrowly escaped with their lives. A few 
days after their return to the station a priest came to 
the teachers and expressed a determination to burn 
his idols, and requested permission to place his son a 
boy of ten years of age under their care lest the gods 
in their anger should destroy him. Leaving the child 
with the teachers he returned home, and next morning 
came bending under the weight of the god he was 
bringing to be burned. A crowd followed, calling him 
a madman, but he persisted in his resolution to 
embrace Christianity and threw his idol at the teach- 
er's feet. One of the teachers brought a saw to cut 
it up, but as soon as the people saw the instrument 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 279 

applied to the head of the god, they became frightened 
and ran away. In a short time they returned, and in 
the presence of an immense multitude the first reject- 
ed idol of Rarotonga was committed to the flames. 
So great an effect was produced on the minds of the 
people by this event that in less than ten days after it 
occurred fourteen idols were destroyed. Immediately 
afterwards the chief Tinomana sent for the teachers, 
and informed them that after much deliberation he 
had concluded to embrace Christianity, and to place 
himself under their instruction. He therefore wished 
to know what was the first step towards becoming a 
Christian. Being told that he must destroy his maraes 
and burn his idols, he instantly replied, " Come with 
me and see them destroyed." The temple was imme- 
diately set on fire and was soon consumed, together 
with the sacred pieces of wood with which it was 
decorated. The idols were then brought and laid at 
the feet of the teacher, who having disrobed them 
threw them into the fire. Some of the people were 
much enraged with the chief, and called him a fool 
and madman for burning his gods. The women 
became frantic with grief, and made loud and doleful 
lamentations. But notwithstanding this excitement 
an impression was made in favor of the new religion, 
and in the course of a few days all the idols in the 
district were brought to the teachers for their disposal. 
From this time the destruction of the gods and maraes 
went on rapidly throughout the island. Among the 
last of the chiefs to renounce his idols was the king. 



280 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Though many still adhered to their superstitions, the 
supremacy of idolatry was now at an end. Through 
the influence of the teachers a chapel six hundred feet 
in length was built for the worship of the true God, 
in the erection of which the people were all anxious 
to assist. When the first post was laid, Tinomana 
was requested by the king to implore the blessing of 
God, and in order that all might see and hear, the 
chief climbed up into a tree and offered an appropri- 
ate prayer. While this chapel was building, Raro- 
tonga was visited (a little more than a year after its 
discovery) by Messrs. Tyerman and Bennet, who 
found that the whole population had renounced 
idolatry. 

In a voyage to the Hervey group one year later 
than the visit of Tyerman and Bennet, Mr. Bourne 
preached to large congregations in Rarotonga, and 
Daptized many converts. Of the progress of the 
Gospel in this island he observes, " Much has been 
said concerning the success of the Gospel in Tahiti 
and the Society Islands, but it is not to be compared 
with its progress in Rarotonga. In Tahiti, European 
missionaries labored for fifteen long years before the 
least fruit appeared. But two years ago Rarotonga 
was hardly known to exist, was not marked in any of 
the charts, and we spent much time in traversing the 
ocean in search of it. Two years ago the Raroton- 
gans did not know there was such good news as the 
Gospel. And now I scruple not to say, that their 
attention to the means of grace, their regard to family 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 281 

and private prayer, equals whatever has been wit- 
nessed at Tahiti and the neighboring islands. And 
when we look at the means, it becomes more aston- 
ishing. Two native teachers, not particularly dis- 
tinguished among their own countrymen for intelli- 
gence, have been the instruments of effecting this 
wonderful change, and that before a single mission- 
ary had set his foot upon the island." 

Among other causes, the following circumstance 
no doubt contributed to prepare the way for the 
reception of the Gospel among this people. Previous 
to the arrival of Mr, Williams with Papeiha, a heathen 
woman from Tahiti, having been by some means 
conveyed to Rarotonga, informed the people of that 
island of the wonderful events that had taken place 
in Tahiti, through the influence of white men who 
had come among them. She also told them some- 
thing about the new religion, and her account excited 
so much interest in the mind of the king, that he 
named one of his children " Jehovah," and another 
" Jesus Christ." An uncle of the king erected an 
altar to the new God, to which persons afflicted with 
all kinds of diseases were brought to be healed. The 
reputation of this altar became very great, and an 
impression was made on the minds of the people 
respecting the power of Jehovah, which afterwards 
facilitated the introduction of Christianity. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE HERVEY ISLANDS. 

Battle between the Christians and Heathen — Clemency of the victors 
— Idols brought to the teachers — Chapel built — The mysterious 
chip — Diligence of the people — Introduction of a Code of Laws — 
Polygamy— Separation of the King from his wives— Pivai — Im- 
proved appearance of the inhabitants— Unfavorable change in 
Makea — Outrages of the people — Epidemic at Rarotonga — A 
converted cripple — Beauty of the settlements — A hurricane — Its 
effect on the people — Speech of a chief— Progress of the children — 
Examination of the schools — Religious interest — Letter from the 
church at Rarotonga — Death of a teacher's wife. 

The heathen party at Rarotonga, though com- 
paratively small, was sufficiently numerous to annoy 
the Christians, and at last the personal injuries in- 
flicted on the converts to the new religion led to a 
conflict between the two parties. In this battle the 
Christians conquered. Having led their captives to 
the sea side, the victorious chiefs, instead of putting 
them to death, ordered them not to be injured, and 
advised them to embrace Christianity, in order that 
peace and happiness might be established. The 
prisoners replied that they were now convinced of 
the superior power of Jehovah and of the merciful 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 283 

character of the Christians, and that they would 
therefore unite with them in the worship of the true 
God. On the following day they demolished all their 
maraes and brought their idols to the teachers. 
Much encouraged by their success, the native mis- 
sionaries continued to labor among the people, and 
wrote to Mr. Williams requesting him to come and 
spend a few months with them, as the work was " so 
heavy that they could not carry it." He accordingly 
soon after sailed from Raiatea with Mr. and Mrs. 
Pitman, and arrived at Rarotonga on the IGth of 
May, 1827. Mr. Williams was much impressed with 
the change in the appearance of the inhabitants since 
his first visit. All the females wore bonnets and 
were dressed in white cloth, whilst the men wore 
clothes and hats of native manufacture. A day or 
two after their arrival, a concourse of people appeared 
before the house bearing heavy burdens. Approach- 
ing the missionaries they placed at their feet fourteen 
immense idols. Some of them were immediately 
destroyed, and the others reserved to decorate a new 
chapel which the people proposed building. The 
work was immediately commenced, and so great was 
the diligence with which the people labored, that in 
two months the house was finished. It was well 
plastered and capable of containing nearly three 
thousand people. The edifice was completed without 
a single nail or any iron work whatever. In the 
erection of this chapel a circumstance occurred which 
will give a striking idea of the feelings of an untaught 



284 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

people, when observing for the first time the effects 
of written communications. " As I had come," 
says Mr. Williams, " to the work one morning with- 
out my square, I took up a chip, and with a piece 
of charcoal, wrote upon it a request that Mrs. W. 
would send me that article. I called a chief who 
was superintending his portion of the work, and said 
to him, ' Friend, take this : go to our house and 
give it to Mrs. Williams.' He was a singular looking 
man, remarkably quick in his movements, and had 
been a great warrior ; but, in one of the numerous 
battles he had fought, had lost an eye, and giving 
me an inexpressible look with the other, he said, 
c Take that ! she will call me a fool and scold me, 
if I carry a chip to her. 5 c No/ I replied, ' she will 
not, take it, and go immediately ; I am in haste.' 
Perceiving me to be in earnest, he took it, and asked, 
( What must I say ! ' I replied, ' You have nothing 
to say, the chip will say all I wish/ With a look 
of astonishment and contempt, he held up the piece 
of wood, and said, ■ How can this speak ? has this a 
mouth V I desired him to take it immediately, and 
not spend so much time in talking about it. On 
arriving at the house, he gave the chip to Mrs. Wil- 
liams, who read it, threw it away, and went to the 
tool-chest ; whither the chief, resolving to see the 
result of this mysterious proceeding, followed her 
closely. On receiving the square from her, he said, 
1 Stay, daughter, how do you know that this is what 
Mr. Williams wants?' 'Why,' she replied, 'did 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 285 

you not bring me a chip just now ? ' ' Yes/ said 
the astonished warrior, ' but I did not hear it say 
any thing.' ' If you did not, I did/ was the reply, 
1 for it made known to me what he wanted, and all 
you have to do is to return with it as quickly as 
possible/ With this the chief leaped out of the 
house; and catching up the mysterious piece of wood, 
he ran through the settlement with the chip in one 
hand and the square in the other, holding them up 
as high as his arms would reach, and shouting as he 
went, * See the wisdom of these English people; they 
can make chips talk, they can make chips talk! 5 
On giving me the square he wished to know how it 
was possible thus to converse with persons at a dis- 
tance. I gave him all the explanation in my power, 
but it was a circumstance involved in so much mys- 
tery that he actually tied a string to the chip, hung 
it round his neck, and wore it for some time. During 
several following days we frequently saw him sur- 
rounded by a crowd who were listening with intense 
interest while he narrated the wonders which this 
chip had performed. " * 

The natives were diligent in their attendance at 
the mission school, but at the end of three months 
the missionaries were surprised to find that they had 
made but little improvement, and that not a single 
person on the island could read. They had hitherto 
been instructed in Tahitian, but as they did not 

* Missionary Enterprises, pages 12G, 127. 



2S6 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

succeed in learning that language, it was determined 
to prepare some elementary books, and translate some 
portions of the New Testament into their own tongue. 
From that time the progress of the people was rapid, 
and their improvement constantly perceptible. Their 
anxiety to understand the truths of the Gospel, and 
their punctual attendance on public worship, were 
very encouraging. Previous to the commencement 
of public worship on the Sabbath, the people met in 
classes of ten or twelve families, and a particular 
portion of the sermon was assigned to each person, 
which he was to bring away. One said, " Mine 
shall be the text and all that is said in immediate 
connection with it ; " another, " I will take care of 
the first division ; " and a third, " I will bring home 
the particulars under that head.' 5 After public wor- 
ship the classes met again, and after singing and 
prayer, one among them began the examination by 
inquiring, "With whom is the text?" and proposed 
a variety of questions respecting its meaning. He 
then proceeded to other parts of the discourse, till 
the whole sermon had passed in review, and to such 
habits of attention were the people trained, that a 
sentiment of importance was rarely omitted. 

Circumstances were continually occurring, which 
rendered it important that the chiefs should adopt a 
code of laws as the basis of the administration of 
justice in Rarotonga. Previous to the introduction 
of Christianity, the people had several methods of 
inflicting punishment, but these they now perceived 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 287 

to be inconsistent with the principles of the Gospel. 
Anxious to lay a permanent foundation for the civil 
liberties of the people, Messrs. Pitman and Williams 
prepared a code of laws similar to that adopted at 
Raiatea, which, after much consultation, was accept- 
ed by the chiefs and people of Rarotonga. Before 
the final establishment of these laws, the missionaries 
were obliged to decide on one or two subjects of a 
delicate and perplexing character. The practice of 
polygamy, which existed here as in most of the other 
South Sea Islands, had always been a source of much 
anxiety to the teachers. Hitherto, however, they had 
found it impossible to prevent it. When a person 
having more than one wife offered himself as a can- 
didate for baptism, they had required him to select 
one of them and also provide for the support of those 
whom he had put away.* Although some who com- 
plied with this condition occasioned serious trouble, 
the measure on the whole succeeded beyond what 
might have been reasonably anticipated. Among the 
difficult cases, was that of Makea, the king. The 
missionaries thought that the only way to overcome 
the difficulty would be to convene the people, and to 
recommend that those who were dissatisfied should 
be allowed to select publicly either of their wives, 

* As food is much less abundant at this island than at Tahiti 
and the Society Islands, and as females are almost entirely de- 
pendent on their husbands for support, it is a matter of some 
consequence that provision be made for them. 



288 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

and should then be united to her in marriage in the 
presence of the whole assembly. Knowing that the 
king's course would form a precedent, the mission- 
aries commenced by requesting him to name publicly 
the wife he intended to make his companion for life. 
Of his thirteen wives he selected the youngest, who 
had borne him one child, in preference to one who 
had borne him three, and another who had borne him 
nine or ten. He was then married to her in the 
presence of the people. On the following morning 
JPivai, the principal wife of the king, taking a mat 
to sleep on, a mallet with which to make cloth for 
her former husband and for her children, left his 
house and took up her residence in solitude. She 
was much attached to the king, and seemed distressed 
at the prospect of being separated from him, but know- 
ing that it would be wrong to remain, she decided to 
leave him at once. The king made ample provision 
for her support, and she testified her unabated affec- 
tion for him by spending the period of her widow- 
hood in making native garments for him, on which 
she bestowed the utmost pains and skill. She was 
afterwards married to a neighboring chief, with whom 
she lived very happily. The adjustment of this diffi- 
cult question, and the course pursued in relation to 
it by the king, operated favorably upon the people, 
and from that time no trouble has been experienced. 
When Messrs. Pitman and Williams had been seve- 
ral months at Rarotonga, they were cheered by the 
arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Buzacott, who proved valua- 



L 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 289 

ble assistants. The day after they landed, Mr. Buza- 
cott, who was an excellent mechanic, turned up his 
sleeves and began to work at the forge. On seeing 
this, the people, and especially the king, exclaimed, 
" This is the man for us; this is the man for us!" 
After having spent about twelve months at Rarotonga, 
Mr. Williams took an affectionate leave of the people, 
to whom he had become much attached, leaving with 
them Mr. and Mrs. Pitman and Mr. and Mrs. Buza- 
cott. During the year he had spent on the island, 
the external appearance of the inhabitants and es- 
pecially of the females, had entirely changed. The 
wives of the missionaries had taught the native women 
the use of the needle, and many of them had become 
quite skilful in making bonnets and other articles of 
dress. They met almost daily with their teachers to 
receive instruction. The men were taught by the 
missionaries to build better houses, to make furniture, 
and to work at various useful trades. The leg of a, 
sofa having been turned in a lathe which had been 
constructed, one of the chiefs was so much delighted, 
that he hung it about his neck, and walked up and 
down the settlement, attracting the attention and ad- 
miration of the inhabitants, many of whom declared 
that had they possessed it prior to their renunciation 
of idolatry, it would not only have been an object of 
worship, but have taken the precedence of all their 
other idols. On the departure of Mr. Williams for 
his station at Raiatea he was accompanied by Makea, 
who visited many of the Society Islands, and received 
19 



290 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

much attention wherever he went. After an absence 
•of two months, he returned to Rarotonga, his charac- 
ter, it would seem, having been seriously injured by 
his voyage. Inflated with an opinion of his own im* 
portance, he soon began to treat the missionaries 
with disrespect, and rendered their situation exceed* 
ingly unpleasant The people also observing the 
conduct of the king, began to steal. In addition to 
these troubles, contentions arose between some of the 
leading men respecting a portion of land, and became 
so violent as to occasion fears that the whole island 
would be involved in war, A skirmish, in fact, com- 
menced, but the interference of the judges prevented 
a battle. Vexed by this interposition, the contend- 
ing parties out of revenge set fire to the houses of 
the judges. The chapel also, with a new school 
house, and several other buildings, were burned. 
Emboldened by success, the incendiaries would have 
proceeded to further outrages had not one of them 
been caught and severely punished. This salutary 
example produced its designed effect, and for some 
time there was no other attempt to burn a building. 
The chapel was rebuilt, a new school house erected, 
and the school again became flourishing and pros- 
perous. 

Mr. Williams states that in one of his visits to this 
island, while passing from one station to another, he 
saw a poor cripple coming on his knees to meet him, 
who cried out as he approached, " Welcome, servant 
of God, who brought light into this dark island: to 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 291 

you are we indebted for the word of salvation." 
* What do you know of salvation?" asked the 
missionary. " I know about Jesus Christ, " he 
answered, " who came into the world to save sinners." 
Being asked what he knew about Jesus Christ, he 
replied, " I know that he is the Son of God, and that 
he died upon the cross, to pay for the sins of men, in 
order that their souls might be saved, and go to hap- 
piness in the skies." Mr. Williams inquired if all 
people went to heaven after death. " Certainly not," 
said he, " only those who believe in the Lord Jesus, 
who cast away sin, and who pray to God." " You 
pray of course," said Mr. Williams, " O yes," he 
answered, " I very frequently pray as I weed my 
ground and plant my food, but always three times a 
day, beside praying with my family every morning 
and evening." " What do you say when you pray ? " 
asked Mr. Williams. He answered, "I say, O Lord, 
I am a great sinner, may Jesus take my sins away by 
his good blood, give me the righteousness of Jesus 
to adorn me, and give me the good Spirit of Jesus to 
instruct me, and make my heart good, to make me a 
man of Jesus, and take me to heaven when I die." 
" Where did you obtain your knowledge?" asked 
Mr. Williams. " From you, to be sure," answered 
the cripple. " Who brought us the news of salvation 
but yourself? " u I do not recollect," said Mr. Wil- 
liams, " to have seen you at -either of the settlements, 
and if you have never heard me speak of these things 
how did you obtain your knowledge of them ? " 



292 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

" Why/' said he, " as the people return from the 
services, I take my seat by the way-side, and beg a 
bit of the word of them as they pass by. One gives 
me one piece, another another piece, and I collect 
them together in my heart, and by thinking over what 
I thus obtain, and praying to God to make me know, 
I understand a little about his word." 

The appearance at this period of the settlement at 
Arorangi, one of the missionary stations, indicated 
health, prosperity, and happiness. It was about a 
mile in length, with a wide road through the middle, 
shaded on each side by a beautiful row of trees. The 
chapel and the school-house stood in the centre, and 
the native cottages were built at regular distances 
from each other about fifty yards from the road. 
Every house had doors and Venetian windows neatly 
painted. The space between the road and the houses 
was laid out as a garden or paved with black and 
white pebbles, and the whole wore an air of neat- 
ness and beauty which strongly contrasted with the 
aspect of the island on the first visit of the mission- 
aries. 

Before the departure of Mr. Williams from Raro- 
tonga, it was decided that Mr. Buzacott and Mr. Pit- 
man should assist him in translating the New Testa* 
ment into the Rarotongan dialect ; and when the 
work was completed, it was deemed important that 
they should spend a few months together in revising 
it for the press. Accordingly in the autumn of 1831, 
Mr. and Mrs. Williams sailed for Rarotonga with 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 293 

supplies, of which the mission families were in pres- 
sing need. 

The settlement at Avarua had improved so much 
in appearance, that it now surpassed in beauty any of 
the other missionary stations. A new chapel, capa- 
ble of containing two thousand persons, had been 
built, with galleries and a neatly finished pulpit. At 
each end were porticoes approached by flights of 
steps of hewn coral. Near the chapel stood a neat 
school-house overshadowed by tall and graceful shade 
trees, and in the distance appeared the white cottages 
of the natives with their gardens and shrubbery. 
For a time every thing seemed prosperous, but at a 
meeting of the chiefs and people held about two 
weeks after the arrival of Mr. Williams, a proposition 
was made to revive some of their ancient customs. 
This proposal having been favorably received, the 
practice of tattooing was soon after commenced, and 
numbers were seen in the settlement decorated in 
heathenish style. The missionaries were much 
grieved to observe the effects of these new measures 
on the young people, and especially the pupils in 
the schools. But these alarming indications were 
not followed by serious disturbances. A sermon from 
Acts xvii. 30, 31, produced a powerful impression on 
the people, and it was not long before the mission- 
aries had the pleasure of seeing the evil practices in 
a measure discontinued. 

A short time after these events, the island was 
visited with a most furious and destructive hurri- 



294 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

cane. Trees were torn up, fences blown down, 
and many buildings demolished. When the fury 
of the storm was to some extent abated, the set- 
tlements presented a melancholy spectacle. In pas- 
sing from one to the other over the scene of deso- 
lation scarcely a house was to be seen standing. 
" The poor women were running about with their 
children, wildly looking for a place of safety ; and the 
men were dragging their little property from beneath 
the ruins of their prostrate houses. The screams of 
the former and the shouts of the latter, together with 
the roaring sea, the pelting rain, the howling wind, 
the falling trees, and the infuriated appearance of the 
atmosphere, presented a spectacle the most sublime 
and terrible > which made the spectators stand and 
tremble and adore. " The house of Mr. Buzacott lay 
in ruins, and Mrs. B. with her three little children 
after taking refuge in several falling cottages was 
obliged to flee to the mountains. The missionaries 
exerted themselves to save the most valuable of their 
goods, but the violence of the tempest prevented them 
from securing more than a few boxes of clothing and 
books. The storm continued with unabated violence 
for two or three days. The chapels, school houses, 
mission houses, and nearly all the dwellings of the 
natives were levelled with the ground. The storm 
having subsided, the missionaries assembled and 
united in thanksgivings to God for the preservation of 
their lives amidst such scenes of peril. As soon as 
the consternation produced by the hurricane was over, 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 295 

a general meeting of the people was called, at which 
the great body of them charged the chiefs with having 
brought this judgment upon them by reviving the 
heathen customs which had been so long abandoned. 
As this feeling was general, a resolution was unani- 
mously passed that all the late innovations should be 
suppressed, and that the observance of the laws should 
be strictly enforced. One of the chiefs, a well-dis- 
posed but ignorant man, proposed that he and his 
brother chiefs should all be tried and sentenced to 
some punishment, as an atonement for the sins of the 
people. The effect produced on the minds of the 
natives by the recent misfortunes was generally favor- 
able. Some, however, were disgusted and left the 
settlement, saying, that since the introduction of 
Christianity a greater number of evils had befallen 
them than before they renounced idolatry. One old 
chieftain addressed the meeting and referred to the 
several disasters which they had experienced as means 
employed by Jesus Christ for their spiritual benefit. 
u If," said he, li we had improved these afflictions as 
we ought, we might have been spared this last calam- 
ity. But as all the preceding judgments failed to 
accomplish the desired effect, we have now been visit- 
ed by a much more signal display of divine power. 
Let us then humble ourselves under this exhibition 
of the anger of God, and not provoke him still more 
by our obstinacy. True, our food is all destroyed, 
but our lives are spared; our houses are all blown 
down, but our wives and children have escaped ; our 



296 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

large new chapel is a heap of ruins, and for this I 
grieve most of all, yet we have a God to worship ; our 
school house is washed away, yet our teachers are 
spared to us ; and," holding up a portion of the New 
Testament he continued, " we have still this precious 
book to instruct us." This address produced a most 
happy effect on the people, and checked the spirit of 
opposition which had prevailed for some time. 
Shortly after these events, Messrs. Williams and 
Bourne made a voyage to the Society Islands, to 
obtain supplies for the suffering Rarotongans and to 
make arrangements for the printing of those portions 
of the New Testament which had been translated into 
the Rarotongan dialect. Having accomplished these 
objects they returned to Rarotonga with an abundant 
supply of provisions, and a valuable cargo of animals 
which had never been introduced into the island. 
The horses, asses, and cattle excited the astonishment 
of the natives, who like the Tahitians called them all 
pigs. The horse, was the great pig that carries the 
man; the dog, the barking pig, and the ass, the noisy 
or long-eared pig. These animals, especially the 
cattle, have proved exceedingly valuable to the 
missionaries. Having left Mr. Buzacott on the island, 
Mr. Williams sailed for the Navigators' Islands, where 
he remained three or four months. In January, 1833, 
he returned to Rarotonga where he also spent several 
months. During this period the chapels and school 
houses were rebuilt, and the schools revived under the 
most favorable auspices. More than two thousand 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 297 

children were receiving instruction, and their pro- 
gress, especially in writing, was extremely gratifying. 
The missionaries were supplied with but few slates 
and pencils, but as every child was anxious to have 
one they determined if possible to find a substitute. 
One morning the children on leaving school ran in 
groups up the mountains, from which they soon 
returned with flakes of stones broken off from the 
rocks. These they carried to the sea-beach and 
rubbed with sand and coral until they had produced a 
smooth surface. They then colored the stones with 
the juice of the mountain plantain, to give them the 
appearance of English slates. Some of the boys 
completed the resemblance by cutting them square, 
and framing them so that without close examination 
the difference could not be detected. With these 
flakes of stone for slates, and the spine of the eschinus 
or sea-egg for pencils, the children learned to write 
exceedingly well, and hundreds of them took down 
the most important part of every sermon they heard. 

The last visit which Mr. Williams made to Raro- 
tonga was in 1834. The contrast between the ap- 
pearance of the inhabitants at this time and on his 
first visit is thus stated. " When I found them in 
1823, they were ignorant of the nature of Christian 
worship; and when I left them in 1831,1 am not 
aware that there was a house in the island where 
family prayer was not observed every morning and 
every evening." 

During the year 1834, the missionaries were much 



29S SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

encouraged by large additions to their congregations, 
and to the number of pupils in the schools. Several 
natives also gave good evidence of a change of heart, 
and were admitted to church fellowship. In August, 
1835, Mr. Pitman wrote from Rarotonga that the 
schools continued to increase, and that many were 
earnestly seeking the way of life. At an examination 
in one of the schools, addresses of an interesting 
character were made by several of the elder boys. 
"One of them, after speaking on the goodness of 
God manifested towards them, and contrasting their 
present conduct with their former vile practices, 
emphatically turned to some young lads near him 
and said, < Whose are ye ? Whose servants will you 
be ? As for me, my desire is towards the Lord. I 
will be the Lord's, the desire of my heart is to be 
instructed in his word and to be his/ A little boy 
about twelve years old stood up and said, ' Friends 
and brethren, it is written, " Whoso cometh unto me 
I will in no wise cast out ; " these words I delight to 
think of, because they are the words of Christ to us 
sinners, whom he has compassionated in this land.' " 
He then exhorted his companions to come to Christ 
and to forsake their evil practices. 

Several instances of conversion occurred, and two 
persons who died during the year gave decided evi- 
dence of piety. Under date of June 30th, 1836, 
Mr. Pitman writes from Rarotonga, " Inquirers after 
truth are numerous; scarcely a day passes but we 
have applications for baptism and admission to the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 299 

fellowship of the church. Since the formation of 
the church in May, 1833, I have not had occasion 
to reprove any of our number. I am quite astonished 
at the change which has taken place in some districts, 
especially the willingness of most of the people to 
labor. Formerly it was with great difficulty that the 
chiefs could prevail upon them to work on their 
farms for a few days together, but since the intro- 
duction of the Gospel they have all been most actively 
employed, and show no disposition to neglect the 
cultivation of their land, and frequently their chiefs 
tell us that their farms were never so well attended 
to." * 

The desire for books manifested here as in some of 
the other islands was very great. Says Mr. Pitman, 
" In all directions I am followed by men, women, 
and children, calling out, 'Teacher, are all the books 
gone ? Give me one, do not say no.' If I say, ' Can 
you read?' they reply, ( A little, but my children 
c?n.' I am urging all of them to more diligence in 
learning to read, as more books I tell them will soon 
be received.' 5 

The following is an extract from a letter addressed 
by the native church in Rarotonga, under the care 
of Mr. Pitman, to the church in England of which 
Mr. Pitman was a member. " May you be saved by 
the true God, by Jehovah the real God, who has 
looked upon us with compassion and blessed us. 

* London Missionary Chronicle, December, 1837. 



300 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

These are our words which we declare unto you that 
ye may know. Our true state in former times was 
heathen, what we did was entirely evil ; we wor- 
shipped idols. Tangaroa was the name of our great 
god. We slew men and offered them to that idol 
because we thought him to be the true God, and we 
were well pleased in worshipping him. When the 
word of God came to our land, then it was that we 
were rightly informed that Jehovah is the true God, 
and Jesus the sacrifice whereby sin is pardoned. We 
held that word but did not strictly regard it. It was 
on the arrival of our minister, Mr. Pitman, that we 
were fully informed that Jehovah is the true God and 
Jesus the true Saviour, whereby we are saved. We 
were then instructed in the word of God, and our 
minister has taught us to read and write. Men, 
women, and children understand. When the true 
season arrived, then sprung up ordinances, baptism, 
and the eucharist. Many have been admitted into 
the church. The people are also baptized and are 
coming forward for baptism in the name of the Father 
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. We are now 
dwelling comfortably, meditating on the wonderful 
compassion of God, and we rejoice to think that you 
pray for us that we may be blessed, and that we may 
obtain salvation for our souls. Through the amazing 
compassion of God we are made one. You are 
brought nigh to us and we are brought nigh to you. 
May our joy continue even till we meet face to face 
in the kingdom of God ; in that place of which our 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 301 

Lord Jesus has said to us, 'I go to prepare a place 
for you.' Let us be glad for these words." * 

During the year 1838, several native converts were 
removed by death. Their last days were full of hope 
and joy, and afforded to surviving friends abundant 
consolation in the belief that the exchange was their 
eternal gain. 

Of the wife of one of the native teachers Mr. Pitman 
thus writes. " Visited Iro's wife. She had repeatedly 
inquired if I had come, and asked what could detain 
me. As soon as it was told her that I had arrived, 
she looked steadfastly at me and said emphatically, 
' I am going, I am going to Jesus ! ' I said, ' Is 
Jesus all your trust ? Do you think Jesus will 
receive you ? ' ' Yes, he will take me to himself/ 
' Are you not afraid of death V ' I am not afraid 
of death. I long to be with Jesus.' I endeavored 
to ascertain the ground of her confidence, and have 
reason to hope it was well founded. In speaking of 
the joys of the blessed, she would repeat the words 
after me, apparently with much delight. * No sick- 
ness there, no sin there, no evil there, the glory of 
Jesus, oh ! that is good. My heart is with Jesus, my 
soul communes with Jesus. 5 Her husband told me 
that just before I arrived she thought her departure 
was at hand, and exhorted him and all her children. 
6 Do not,' said she, ' grieve on my account ; there is 
no cause for sorrow. Do not turn aside from the 

* London Missionary Chronicle, April, 1838. 



302 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

path of life ! I am very desirous that you should all 
seek the Saviour while he is to be found.' " * 

In this year also great additions were made to the 
church at Rarotonga. The spirit of inquiry seemed 
to be general, and the lives of very many testified that 
they had become sincere Christians. The intelligence 
from this group of Islands continues to be of the most 
interesting character. One of the missionaries in a 
letter from Rarotonga dated January 14, 1840, says 
that a meeting is regularly held in the chapel at 
Arorangi, to give opportunity for persons to express 
their feelings and to exhort one another to diligence 
and love in the work of the Lord. At one of these 
meetings an old man who was a candidate for church 
fellowship said, that he had lived during the reign of 
four kings. " During the first we were continually 
at war. During the second we were overtaken with 
ci severe famine and all expected to perish. During 
the third we were conquered and became the prey 
of two other settlements. But during the reign of 
this third king we were visited by another King — a 
good King — a powerful King — a King of love — 
Jesus the Lord from heaven. He has gained the 
victory — he has gained the victory; he has conquered 
our hearts; we are all his subjects; therefore we now 
have peace and plenty in this world, and hope soon 
to dwell with him in heaven."" 

* London Missionary Chronicle, January, 1839. 



CHAPTER XV. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE SAMOAS, 
OR navigators' ISLANDS. 

Character of the Samoans— Project of Mr. Williams— Ship built-— 
Voyage of Messrs. Williams and Barff^*- Arrival at Savaii — Re- 
ception — Interview with two Chiefs — Second visit of J\Ir. Williams 
to the Navigators' Islands — Pleasant salutation — Incidents at Leone 
— Conduct of English Sailors — Interesting events at Manono— 
Speech of the King — His reception of the Gospel — Effect on the 
people — Beauty of the settlements — Christian females—Conversa- 
tion with a Chief*-- Arrival of English missionaries — Improvement 
of the people — Attention to religion — Missionary meeting — General 
results — Contrast in the condition of the inhabitants. 

In the year 1787, tfae Navigators' Islands were 
visited by the French expedition under La Perouse, 
and at one of them M. De Langle, the second in com* 
mand, with a number of his men, were barbarously 
murdered by the natives,* This tragical act con- 
veyed such an impression of their treachery and 
ferocity as deterred subsequent voyagers from ventur- 
ing among them. For many years they seem not to 
have been visited by a vessel from any part of the 

• See Chapter II. p. 61. 



304 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

civilized world. The idea of introducing the Gospel 
into this group appears to have originated with Mr. 
Williams. In 1824, that indefatigable missionary 
wrote on the subject to the Directors of the London 
Missionary Society. No attempt was made, how- 
ever, to commence a mission at these islands until 
after the establishment of the Gospel at the Hervey 
greup. Desirous to extend the sphere of the mis- 
sionary operations in the South Sea Islands, Mr. 
Williams formed the plan of making a voyage to the 
Navigators' Islands. But the great distance of this 
group—nearly 2,000 miles— from Raiatea, the fero- 
cious character of its inhabitants, and in the event of 
his death the desolate condition of his wife and chil- 
dren at so great a distance from their home and 
friends, naturally rendered Mrs. Williams unwilling 
that her husband should enter on such an undertak- 
ing. At length, however, she gave her " full con- 
currence," and Mr. Williams began to devise the 
means for carrying his plan into execution. Having 
no vessel suitable for such a voyage, he attempted to 
build one, and with the assistance of the natives 
completed it in about three months. In the prosecu- 
tion of this work, the ingenuity and skill of Mr. Wil- 
liams were admirably displayed, and his success 
shows how important such traits of character are in 
a missionary. 

It was indispensable to the accomplishment of his 
work that he should have a pair of smith's bellows, as 
well as certain tools for working in iron, which were 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 305 

not to be found in Rarotonga. Having killed, for 
the sake of their skins, three of the four goats on the 
island, he constructed, with much difficulty, a toler- 
able bellows. But when the rats * had left nothing 
more of his new apparatus than the naked boards, 
all hope of accomplishing his object in the ordi- 
nary way was removed. Unwilling, however, to 
relinquish his purpose, he persevered in his efforts, 
and at last hit upon a novel expedient to " raise the 
wind." It occurred to him, that as water is thrown 
by a pump, air might be projected on the same prin- 
ciple. With two boxes eighteen inches square and 
four feet high, fitted with valves and levers, and 
worked by eight or ten natives, he contrived to pro- 
cure such a succession of blasts as answered all his 
purposes in the building of his vessel. A stone was 



* The missionaries at Rarotonga never sat down to a meal 
without two or more persons to keep the rats from the table, 
and as guards were not thus stationed at family prayers, they 
were then run over by them in all directions. Not only the 
skins with which the trunks were covered were devoured, but 
the boots and shoes, if not carefully secured at night, were in 
the morning no where to be found. Mrs. Pitman, having one 
night lost her shoes in this manner, the native authorities 
issued a decree of extermination against the whole race of rats. 
Baskets, five or six feet in length, having been made, and men, 
women, and children suitably armed, thirty of these baskets 
were filled in an hour, and yet the number remained undimin- 
ished. It is not strange, therefore, that on the return of the 
' Messenger of Peace ' from her first voyage, the cargo consisted 
of an importation of pigs and cats from Aitutaki. 

20 



306 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

substituted for an anvil, and a pair of carpenter's 
pincers for tongs. With very little iron, without a 
saw. without oakum, or cordage,, or sail-cloth, he 
succeeded in launching a vessel sixty feet in length 
and eighteen in breadth, of seventy or eighty tons 
ten. It was named, ; 'The Messenger of Peace.*'" 
The trees were split with wedges, and for adzes the 
natives used small hatchets. The bark of the hibis- 
twisted into ropes, and native mats quilted 
for sails, and the rudder was constructed of " a piece 
of a pickaxe, a cooper's adze, and a large hoe.'' 

Every arran2ement having been at length made for 
the voyage, in reference to which the vessel had been 
constructed. Messrs, Williams and BarrT, with seven 
native teachers, sailed from Raiatea for the Naviga- 
tors' Islands, on the 24th of May, 1830. In order to 
gain as much information as possible respecting the 
people ""horn they were about to visit, the mission- 
aries, knowing that there had always been frequent 
intercourse between the inhabitants of that group and 
those of the Friendly Islands, determined, instead of 
sailing direct for the Navigators' Islands, to proceed 
first to Tongataboo. 

A: that island they found Fauca. a chief of one of 
the Navigators' Islands. xted that he was related 

to the most influential families there, that he had been 
eleven vears absent from his home, and that he was 
now desirous of returning. Having heard that the 
Messenger of Peace was on a voyage to these islands, 
and that the object of the missionaries was to convey 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 307 

the Gospel to his countrymen, he offered, if they 
would take him with them, to use all his influence 
with his relatives and the chiefs, to induce them to 
receive the teachers kindly, and attend to their in- 
structions. Learning from Tupou, the king, that 
Fauea, though not a Christian himself, was decidedly 
favorable to the new religion, and that his wife was 
one of the converts, the missionaries expressed to 
him their willingness to take him and his family to 
his native land. After spending a fortnight at Ton- 
gataboo, the missionaries and the chief, Fauea, sailed 
for the Navigators' Islands. Although Fauea was in 
high spirits at the prospect of soon seeing his home, 
Mr. Williams frequently noticed in his countenance 
an expression of great anxiety, for which he could not 
account. They had not been long at sea, when he 
came and seated himself by the side of Mr. Williams, 
and said that he had been thinking of the great work 
which the missionaries had undertaken, and though 
he had no doubt that the chiefs and people would 
gladly receive them, he feared opposition from a per- 
son called Tamafainga, in whom the spirit of the 
gods dwelt, and who was a terror to all the inhabi- 
tants. He further added, that if he forbade it, the 
people would be afraid to place themselves under 
Christian instruction. Grieved but not entirely dis- 
heartened at this information, the missionaries de- 
termined to pursue their way, looking to God alone 
for protection and success. After a protracted voy- 
age, the beautiful island of Savaii was descried in the 



30S SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

distance. As soon as the vessel reached the shore a 
number of natives came off in their canoes and wel- 
comed Fauea to his native land. After some con- 
versation, the chief inquired " Where is Tamafain- 
ga I" " Oh ! " replied the people, " he is dead, he is 
dead ! he was killed ten or twelve days ago." Almost 
frantic with joy at this information, Fauea leaped 
about the deck, shouting, " The Devil is dead ! the 
Devil is dead ! our work is done, the Devil is dead ! N 
Learning the cause of these exclamations, the mis- 
sionaries united in thanksgiving for what appeared to 
be such a signal interposition of Proridence. 

On the first Sabbath after their arrival, canoes 
came off to the vessel, bringing articles for barter. 
Fauea informed the people that the ship was e vaa 
lotu, or a praying ship, and that as it was le aso sa, 
a sacred day, they could not trade with them until 
the morrow. This information surprised them, but 
Fauea collecting a circle around him on the deck of 
the ship, stated the object of the missionaries in 
coming among them, informed them that a number 
of islands had embraced Christianity, and specified 
some of the advantages which the inhabitants were 
deriving from this new religion. " Can the religion 
of these foreigners be any thing but wise and good ?" 
said the chief to his countrymen. " Let us look at 
them, and then look at ourselves; their heads are 
covered, while ours are exposed to the heat of the 
sun and the wet of the rain. Their bodies are 
clothed all over with beautiful cloth, while we have 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 309 

nothing but a bandage of leaves around our waists ; 
they have clothes upon their very feet, while ours are 
like the dog's. Look at their axes, their scissors, 
and their other property, how rich they are!" This 
address was listened to with great interest by the 
natives, who crowded around the speaker, and with 
outstretched necks and gaping mouths carefully 
caught the words as they fell from his lips. They 
now began to examine the dress of the missionaries, 
and not meeting with a repulse, one of them pulled 
off Mr. Williams's shoe. Surprised at the appearance 
of the foot with the stocking on, he exclaimed " What 
extraordinary people these foreigners are; they have 
no toes as we have ! " " Did I not tell you/' said 
Fauea, that they had clothes upon their feet? feel 
them and you will find that they have toes as well as 
ourselves." In a moment the other shoe was off, and 
both of Mr. Williams's feet, as well as those of his 
colleague, underwent a thorough examination. 

While Fauea was thus employed on board the 
vessel, his wife, who had gone on shore with the 
teachers and their wives, was equally diligent in 
describing to the natives the wonders she had seen, 
and the value of the religion which was now brought 
to their island. When food was offered, she stood 
up and asked a blessing in the presence of the as- 
sembled multitude. 

On landing, the missionaries learned that Malietoa, 
the king, was at Upolu, the seat of a war which was 
then raging, occasioned by the death of Tamafainga. 



310 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

A messenger was despatched to Upolu to inform 
Malietoa of the arrival of the missionaries, and to 
request an interview with him as soon as possible. 
The next day he arrived. He received the teachers 
favorably, and said that he had heard of the lotu, or 
new religion, and was desirous of receiving Christian 
instruction. The missionaries endeavored to dis- 
suade him from continuing the war, but he replied 
that as Tamafainga was related to himself and to all 
the principal chiefs, they must avenge his death, and 
that if he left the war unfinished, and his enemies 
unsubdued, he should be degraded in the estimation 
of his countrymen as long as he lived. He promised, 
however, that as soon as the war was terminated, he 
would come and place himself under the instruction 
of the teachers. The missionaries and the native 
teachers at first suffered considerable apprehension 
about their children, some of whom were not brought 
to them until several hours after their arrival. But 
their fears proved groundless, and they experienced 
the greatest kindness from the Savaiians. Upon in- 
quiry, they found that the natives who had assisted 
the teachers in landing, had taken the children, and 
instead of carrying them directly to their parents, 
first took them to their own residences. There each 
family killed a pig, prepared an oven of food, and 
having given the children a " good feeding," brought 
them to their anxious parents. Malietoa requested 
that four of the teachers might remain with him, and 
pointed out two houses which he intended to present 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 311 

to them for their residence. The other teachers 
were committed to the care of Tumalelangi, the 
brother of Malietoa. When this arrangement was 
completed, the missionaries opened a basket, and 
placed before the two chiefs some presents which 
they had brought for them. Tumalelangi took up 
each article as it was handed out, and placing it upon 
his head, exclaimed, " Thank you for this," and con- 
cluded by saying, " Thank you for all, thank you for 
all." He then said that delighted as he was with his 
present, he thought much more of the missionaries 
than of the gift, and though he was always a great 
man, yet he felt himself a greater man that day than 
ever he was before, because two great English chiefs 
had come to form his acquaintance and bring him 
good. " This," added the chief, " is the happiest 
day of my life, and I rejoice that I have lived to see 
it. In future, we shall consider ourselves and you as 
one family, and hope you will do the same." 

The missionaries having accomplished the object 
of their voyage, and seen the native teachers com- 
fortably located in the houses which had been given 
to them, prepared to leave Savaii. They did not do 
this, however, without intimating that they would re- 
turn again and bring them English missionaries. In 
taking a review of the manner in which they had 
been received by the inhabitants, the kindness they 
had experienced, and the joy evinced by the chiefs in 
the prospect of the settlement of the teachers among 
them, they recognized the hand of Providence. 



312 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Much of this success was, no doubt, attributable to 
Fauea, who, as well as his wife, efficiently promoted 
the objects of the mission. 

In October, 1832, Mr. Williams sailed from Raro- 
tonga on a second visit to the Samoas. The first 
island that appeared in sight was Manua. the most 
easterly of the group. As the vessel approached the 
shore, a number of canoes put off and advanced 
towards it. In one of them a native stood up and 
shouted, " We are sons of the Word, we are sons of 
the Word ; we are waiting for a falau lotu, a reli- 
gion ship, to bring us some people whom they call 
missionaries, to tell us about Jesus Christ.*' This 
salutation was as delightful as it was unexpected. 
One of the chiefs came on board, and finding that the 
vessel was a " religion ship,'*'' appeared highly delight- 
ed and asked for a missionary. On being informed 
that there was but one, and that he was intended for 
Manono, he manifested great regret, and begged to 
be supplied as soon as possible. On entering the bay, 
a canoe came off having on board an old chief. Mr. 
Williams told him his object in visiting the Islands, 
and inquired whether he had heard of the new religion 
which had been introduced into Savaii and Upolu. 
Being answered in the negative, Mr. W. told him his 
object in visiting the Samoa Islands. The old man 
listened attentively and asked for a teacher, promising 
to treat him with great kindness and " give him plenty 
to eat. 55 

The vessel next touched at Tutuila, where it was 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 313 

immediately surrounded by a number of canoes, filled 
with men whose appearance exhibited every mark of 
savage life. They were very urgent to obtain powder 
and muskets, as they were at war, and expected shortly 
to engage in a severe conflict. The missionaries did 
not land here, but passed along the coast to a district 
called Leone, where a person came on board and 
introduced himself as a " son of the Word." He 
informed Mr. Williams that about fifty persons in his 
district had embraced Christianity, had erected a 
place of worship, and were waiting his arrival. As 
the boat approached the shore, the heathen party 
arranged themselves along the beach, and presented 
rather a formidable appearance. Mr. Williams sup- 
posing his life might be in danger, desired the natives 
to cease rowing and unite with him in prayer. The 
chief who stood in the centre of the assembled multi- 
tude perceiving that the missionaries were afraid to 
land, directed the people to sit down, and wading into 
the water, addressed Mr. W. with " Son, will you 
not come on shore ? will you not land amongst us ? " 
Mr. W. replied that he had heard that the inhabitants 
of that bay were exceedingly savage, and that he did 
not know that he should trust himself among them. 
"Oh!" replied the chief, " we are not savage now, 
we are Christians." " Where did you hear of Chris- 
tianity 1 " asked Mr. W. " Oh," he exclaimed, " a 
great chief from the white man's country, named 
Williams, came to Savaii about twenty moons ago, and 
placed there some tamafai-lolu, workers of religion, 



314 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

and several of our people who were there, began on 
their return to instruct their friends, many of whom 
have become sons of the Word." Then pointing to a 
group of persons sitting apart from the rest, each of 
whom had a piece of white native cloth tied round his 
arm, he added, " These are the Christians, and they 
are distinguished from their heathen countrymen by 
the cloth which you see upon their arms." Mr. 
Williams then informed him that he himself was the 
" great chief" he had spoken of, and that he had 
carried the " workers of religion " to Savaii about 
twenty moons before. On hearing this, the chief 
made a signal to the multitude, who instantly sprang 
from their seats, rushed to the sea, seized the boat and 
carried both it and Mr. W. to the shore. Amoamo, 
the chief, conducted Mr. W. to the Christians, by one 
of whom he was informed that a chapel had been 
built, and that service was performed every Sabbath 
day. " And who," asked Mr. Williams, " conducts 
the worship ?" "I do," said he, " I take my canoe, 
go down to the teachers, get some religion which I 
bring carefully home, and give to the people ; and 
when that is gone I take my canoe again and fetch 
some more. And now you are come, for whom we 
have been so lon£ waiting ! Where's our teacher ? 
give me a man full of religion, that I may not expose 
my life to danger by going so long a distance to fetch 
it." On hearing that he could not be supplied with 
a teacher, he was affected almost to tears, and would 
scarcely believe it, for he imagined that the vessel was 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 315 

full of them. Mr. W. inquired of the chief if he had 
become a worshipper of Jehovah. He replied that 
he had not, but added, " If you will give me a 
worker of religion to teach me, I will become a 
believer immediately. " It was with sincere regret 
that Mr. Williams left this little band without any 
missionary to teach them, and returned to the ship to 
prosecute his voyage. He found there a party of 
natives from an adjoining district who were waiting 
to present a request that he would pay them a visit. 
The chief assured Mr. Williams that he and nearly 
all his people were Christians, and that they had 
erected a spacious place of worship in imitation of 
the one at Savaii, and that he was daily engaged in 
teaching his people what he had himself been taught. 
Seeing that Mr. W. was inclined to doubt his state- 
ments, he placed his hands before him in the form of 
a book, and recited a chapter out of the Tahitian 
primer, after which he said " Let us pray," and 
kneeling down upon the deck he repeated the Lord's 
prayer in the Tahitian language. Mr. Williams was 
pleased with his simplicity, and gave him some 
elementary books, and promised if possible to call and 
spend a day or two with him on his return from Savaii. 
The next day Mr. W. reached Upolu, when natives 
from various parts of the island approached the vessel, 
saying that they were " sons of the Word/' and that 
they were waiting for a " religion ship " to bring 
them missionaries. Two English sailors among them 
came on board, and began to describe their exploits 



316 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

in " turning people religion," as they termed it. Mr. 
Williams inquired how they effected their object. 
One of them replied, " Why sir, I goes about and 
talks to the people, and tells 'em that our God is good, 
and theirs is bad ; and when they listens to me, I 
makes 'em religion, and baptizes 'em." " You bap- 
tize them then, do you," said Mr. Williams, "how do 
you do that?" " Why sir," he answered, " I takes 
water, dips my hands in it, and crosses them in their 
foreheads, and in their breasts, and then I reads a bit 
of a prayer to 'em in English." " Of course," said 
Mr. W. " they understand you." " No," he replied, 
" but they says they knows it does 'em good." 

When Mr. Williams reached Manono, the chief, 
Matetau, whom he had seen on his first visit to this 
island, came off to the ship and inquired with great 
earnestness, "Where's my missionary?" Te-ava 
and his wife, the native teachers who had been set 
apart for this station, were then introduced to him. 
He seized them with delight, and exclaimed, " Good, 
very good, I am happy now ! " After a hasty visit to 
this island, Mr. Williams proceeded to Savaii, where 
he was received by the teachers and people with 
many expressions of joy. They informed him that 
Malietoa, his brother, the principal chiefs, and nearly 
all the inhabitants of the settlement, had embraced 
Christianity, and that the body of the people were 
only waiting his arrival to renounce idolatry. The 
next day was the Sabbath, and about 9 o'clock, Mr. 
Williams accompanied the native teachers to the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 317 

chapel. The congregation consisted of about seven 
hundred persons, who, though rude and uncultivated 
in appearance, could not be viewed without interest, 
as they listened to the words that fell from the lips 
of the preacher. At the close of the service in 
the afternoon, one of the teachers thus addressed 
the assembly. " Friends, for a long time we 
have been subject to ridicule ; and some have 
even represented us as deceivers, and endeavored to 
confirm their representations by saying, ' Where is 
Mr. Williams? he will never return; if he comes 
again we will believe.' Here, then, is our minister 
for whom you have been waiting : you can ask him 
any questions you please in confirmation of what we 
have told you. Here is our minister from England, 
the dwelling place of knowledge ; he and his brother 
missionaries are the fountains from which its streams 
have flowed through these islands. Ask him now 
respecting the points concerning which you have 
doubted. He is our root." This address was fol- 
lowed by one from Malietoa, who declared, that it 
was his intention to " give his whole soul to the word 
of Jehovah, and to employ his utmost endeavors that 
it might speedily encircle the land." The following 
day a general meeting of the people was called, which 
Mr. Williams was invited to attend. After a short 
address from Malietoa, Mr. Williams inquired, what 
was the wish of the people in regard to receiving 
English missionaries, now that they had had sufficient 
time to form an opinion of the spirit and principles 



318 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

of Christianity. " Our wish is," replied the chief, 
" that you should fetch your family, and come and 
live and die with us, to tell us about Jehovah, and 
teach us how to love Jesus Christ." " But," said 
Mr. Williams, " I am only one, and there are eight 
islands in the group, and the people are so numerous 
that the work is too great for any individual ; and my 
proposition is, that I return immediately to my 
native country, and inform my brother Christians of 
your anxiety to be instructed." " Well," answered 
Malietoa, " go, go with speed ; obtain all the mis- 
sionaries you can, and come again as soon as possi- 
ble ; but, oh ! we shall be dead, many of us will be 
dead before you return." Mr. Williams then asked, 
whether, if missionaries came among them with their 
wives and property, he would protect them. The 
chief, with an expression of surprise, inquired, 
" Why do you ask that question ? have I not fulfilled 
my promises ? I assured you that I would terminate 
the war as soon as possible ; this I did, and there has 
been no war since. I gave you my word that I would 
assist in erecting a chapel ; it is finished. I told you 
I would place myself under instruction, and I have 
done so. Twenty moons ago you committed your 
people with their wives, and children, and property 
to my care ; now inquire, if in any case, they have 
suffered injury. And do you ask me whether I will 
protect English missionaries, the very persons we are 
so anxious to have? Why do you propose such a 
question?" Mr. Williams replied, that he did not 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 319 

ask on his own account, but that he might carry the 
words of the chief to England, since they would be 
more satisfactory than his own. " Oh ! " he ex- 
claimed, " that is what you wish, is it?" and moving 
his hand from his mouth towards Mr. Williams, he 
said, " Here they are, take them ; here they are, take 
them ; go and procure for us as many missionaries as 
you can, and tell them to come with confidence ; for 
if they bring property enough to reach from the top 
of yonder high mountain down to the sea-beach, and 
leave it exposed from one year's end to another, not 
a particle of it shall be touched. " 

During his stay at Savaii, Mr. Williams learned 
from the teachers many interesting particulars re- 
specting the introduction of the Gospel into the 
island, and especially its reception by Malietoa and 
his family. A short time previous to the day fixed 
upon for the opening of the new chapel, the king 
called together his family, and stated that* he was 
about to fulfil his promise and become a worshipper 
of Jehovah. His sons replied that if it was good for 
him it was also good for them, and that they also 
would receive the Gospel. But to this he objected, 
saying that the gods would be enraged with him for 
abandoning them, and endeavor to destroy him, " and 
perhaps," added he, " Jehovah may not have power 
to protect me against the effects of their anger. I 
will therefore try the experiment of becoming his 
worshipper, and if he can protect me you may with 
safety follow my example ; but if not, I only shall fall 



320 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

a victim to their vengeance — you will be safe." The 
young men unwillingly consented to wait a month or 
six weeks; but the third week their patience became 
exhausted, and going to their father, they stated that 
he had tried the experiment long enough, and as no 
evil had befallen him, they would immediately follow 
his example. Not only his sons, but all his relatives, 
and nearly all his people, abandoned their heathen 
worship. In connection with this renunciation of 
their old religion, a singular ceremony was observed. 
Every chief of note at the Samoa Islands had his 
etu, in which the spirit of the gods was supposed to 
reside. This etu was some species of bird, fish, or 
reptile, and if any one of that class was cooked and 
eaten, the etu was considered so entirely desecrated 
that it could never again be regarded as an object of 
religious veneration. The etu of Malietoa's sons 
was a fish called a?iae. On the day appointed, a 
large party of friends and relatives were invited to 
partake of the feast. A number of anae were dressed, 
and a portion laid before each individual, who with 
fear and trembling ate of the sacred food. The super- 
stitious fears of the young men were so much excited 
lest they should be punished with death for their 
presumption, that on returning from the feast they 
drank a large dose of cocoanut oil and salt water, to 
prevent the effects which they feared might follow. 
The people who were spectators of this feast, expected 
that those who partook of it would fall down dead 
suddenly, but seeing no harm happen to them they 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 321 

changed their minds, and said that Jehovah was the 
true God. The result of this experiment produced a 
decided change in favor of Christianity, and induced 
many of the people to place themselves under the 
instruction of the teachers. There were afterwards 
frequent rumors of war, and several times it was on 
the point of breaking out. These reports caused the 
missionaries much anxiety, but their fears proved 
groundless, and they enjoyed tranquillity for some 
months. 

After spending several days at Sapapalii, the dis- 
trict in which the teachers resided, Mr. Williams set 
out for Amoa, a station about eight miles distant, 
where the inhabitants had built a chapel and were 
all receiving Christian instruction. In going to 
Amoa he passed through two or three other settle- 
ments, the beauty of which surprised and delighted 
him. Through one of them, called Safatulafai, there 
was a broad road of hard sand ; in the centre stood 
a spacious building for their public business and 
amusements, and at little distances there were beautiful 
lawns of the richest velvet. At Amoa Mr. W. was 
visited by a number of females, each of whom brought 
him a present. They said that the Christians of 
their settlement were all females, and that as they 
could not expect to receive a visit from so great a 
chief, they had come to pay their respects to one 
from whom they had received the Word of Jehovah. 
In reply to some inquiries which Mr. W. made re- 
specting this band of females, the teachers said that 
21 



322 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

they knew them well, and that their settlement was 
five miles distant. The principal person among them 
had resided with the teachers several months, during 
which time she was exceedingly diligent in her atten- 
dance on their instructions. When she returned she 
collected all the women of her district, and telling 
them what she had heard, persuaded many of them 
to follow her example, and renounce their heathen 
worship. " From that time/' said the teachers, " her 
visits to us have been frequent, and as soon as her 
little stock of knowledge is expended, she returns 
and stays with us a few days to obtain more, which 
she treasures up and carefully carries back to her 
waiting companions." She had also built a place of 
worship, in which, when neither of the teachers could 
attend, she conducted the services herself. 

Many other interesting incidents occurred during 
Mr. Williams's stay at these islands, but our limits 
do not allow us to notice more than one or two. 
One night after he had retired to rest fatigued with 
the duties of the day, he was prevented from sleeping 
by the conversation of an interesting and intelligent 
young chief, who had just returned from a journey. 
On seeing Mr. W. he saluted him in English with 
" How do you do, Sir ? " " Very well, I thank you, 
Sir," replied Mr. W., " how do you do ? " " Oh ! " 
answered he, " me very well ; me very glad to see 
you ; me no see you long time ago ; me away in the 
bush making fight ; oh ! plenty of the fight, too 
much of the fight ! Me hear that white chief bring 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 323 

the good word of Jehovah ; me want plenty to see 
you ; me heart say, How do you do ? me heart cry to 
see you." In reply to Mr. Williams's inquiry whether 
he had learned to read, he said that he had been 
trying for several months, but that his " heart wa£ 
too much fool," and that he had not yet succeeded. 
But he added that he was determined to persevere, 
and never be tired till he had learned. After giving 
Mr. W. an account of the cruelties practised in the 
late war, he exclaimed, "Oh my countrymen, the 
Samoa man too much fool, plenty wicked ; you 
don't know. Samoa great fool, he kills the man, he 
fights the tree. Bread-fruit tree, cocoanut tree, no 
fight us. Oh ! the Samoa too much fool, too much 
wicked." He inquired respecting Mr. W.'s family, 
and asked, " If Williams's woman and Williams's boy 
did not grieve very much at his being so far away 
from them so many moons?" " Yes," replied Mr. 
W., " but Mrs. Williams is as anxious as myself that 
the poor heathen should know about Jesus Christ 
and salvation, and therefore willingly makes the 
sacrifice." With tears in his eyes, he exclaimed, 
" We plenty sorry for them ; they must have plenty 
of cry for you all these moons." 

At a district called Apia, one of the chiefs inquired 
of Mr. W. his opinion of the harbor where he had 
landed. On learning that it was an excellent one, 
he requested Mr. Williams to communicate the fact 
to captains of ships, as he greatly desired to be visited 
by them. Mr. W. replied that he would do so, but 



324 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

added he, " The captains will immediately inquire 
whether the chief is a Christian, and I shall be 
obliged to tell them that he is not." " Oh no/ 5 he 
exclaimed, " you must not tell them that, for I have 
resolved to follow Malietoa's example ; and if you 
will wait until to-morrow morning, by which time 
I shall have conferred with my people, you can come 
on shore and make me a Christian." The following 
morning Mr. W. met the chief, who in the presence 
of a large number of people said, " I have resolved 
to renounce the religion of my forefathers, and wish 
you to make me a Christian." Mr. W. informed 
him that nothing but a change of heart could make 
him a Christian, but that he should rejoice to receive 
his public declaration in favor of Christianity, and to 
write his name in a book as one who desired to 
become a Christian. The chief then requested that 
those who wished to follow his example would remain 
in the house while Mr. W. prayed, and that the others 
would retire. About twenty withdrew, but they re- 
turned again at the close of the prayer, and listened 
attentively to an address from the chief. " Let none 
of us," said he, "speak contemptuously of religion. 
Some of you have preferred remaining in the devil's 
worship. Do not you revile my proceedings; neither 
will I yours." A short time after this, while walking 
with the chief, Mr. W. noticed that he appeared much 
dispirited, and inquired the cause. The chief re- 
plied, " Oh I am in great perplexity ! I have taken 
a most important step ; I have become a worshipper 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 325 

of Jehovah, but I am quite ignorant of the kind of 
worship I must offer, and of the actions which are 
pleasing or displeasing to him, and I have no one to 
teach me." Mr. W. promised to send him a teacher, 
and soon after took his leave of him. 

Having completed the object of his voyage, and 
visited all the islands of the Samoa group, Mr. W. 
returned to his family. The feelings excited in his 
mind by a review of the interesting scenes he had 
witnessed and the reception he had met with, were 
those of gratitude and joy. In less than twenty 
months an entire change had taken place in the 
habits and character of the Samoans. Chapels had 
been built in all the islands, and every where the 
people seemed waiting to receive instruction. It is 
not to be supposed that, in their desire for mission- 
aries, the majority of the people were at this time 
influenced solely by a wish to receive Christian 
instruction. Motives of worldly policy no doubt 
operated powerfully upon the minds of many, but 
there were probably some who were sincerely desirous 
of becoming acquainted with the true God, and the 
way of salvation. But whatever may have been the 
ruling motive with some, the abandonment of their 
heathen customs, and of their false system of religion, 
is certainly a delightful result. 

The desire of the chiefs and people of this group 
to receive English missionaries, was communicated 
by Mr. Williams to the Directors of the Missionary 
Society, and in November, 1835, six missionaries, 



326 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

five of whom were accompanied by their wives, sailed 
from London for the Navigators' Islands. On the 
22nd of April, 1836, they arrived at Tahiti, and in 
June following, reached their destination and com- 
menced their labors. Messrs. Murray and Barnden 
were stationed at Tutuila, Mr. Heath at Manono, 
Mr. Mills at Upolu, and Messrs. Hardy and M'Donald 
at Savaii. The way had already been prepared for 
them, and the manner in which they were received 
by the people was truly encouraging. Under date of 
December 9, 1836, Mr. Heath writes thus from Ma- 
nono. " At the village in which I reside, nearly all 
the people can read and write, and constantly attend 
public worship. The old chapel is used as a school, 
and a large, new plastered one was opened in Septem- 
ber. At the same time, nineteen adults and several 
children were baptized. " There were at this time 
in Upolu, eight plastered chapels besides several of 
an inferior description. After noticing the state of 
the schools, Mr. Heath adds, " Several chiefs have 
offered to embrace Christianity, or to lotu, as their 
phrase is, if we provide for them a white teacher. 
When I look at the people, naturally quick and intel- 
ligent, and eager for instruction, when I hear them 
daily begging for books and slates, pencils and paper, 
without being able to supply one tenth of them, I 
feel oppressed by the view of our feeble means." * 
In April, 1837, Mr. Hardy had acquired a sufficient 

* London Missionary Chronicle, May, 1838. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 327 

knowledge of the language to be able to preach to 
the people, and appointed one or two meetings for 
religious conversation with such as were disposed. 
Twelve men came, with whom he conversed a con- 
siderable time. He found their knowledge of the 
plan of salvation, though limited, sufficiently clear, 
and the truth seemed to have taken deep hold upon 
their minds. They were afterwards publicly examined 
and baptized. On the same day a native church was 
formed at Savaii, consisting of the English mission- 
aries, the native teachers, and eleven Samoans. 

At Tutuila also the missionaries were greatly 
encouraged, and evidence was constantly afforded 
them of the benefits resulting from their instructions. 
In May, 1837, about the time of the annual mission- 
ary meeting in London, Mr. Heath mentioned to one 
of the chiefs that a great missionary meeting was 
soon to be held in England, and that perhaps such 
meetings might hereafter be held at Manono. if Why 
can we not have one this year ? " asked the chief, 
" for great is my desire." As no arrangement had 
been made for such a meeting, Mr. H. doubted the 
expediency of appointing one, but finding that the 
people were exceedingly anxious, he decided to have 
one in his own district. Though the weather was 
bad, a congregation of nearly three thousand people 
assembled, and addresses were delivered by several 
chiefs and native teachers. The speeches were con- 
tinued for upwards of two hours, during which time 
the attention of the audience was undivided. The 



328 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

speakers alluded in affecting terms to their present 
advantages compared with their former darkness. 
One of them said that at first they " threw away the 
word of Jehovah, but now they had made oath to 
him ; that formerly the land was as if buried with 
large stones, but that now it was made smooth." In 
the course of the week a similar meeting was held 
at Savaii. 

In a tour of Upolu which Mr. Heath made shortly 
after, he had the pleasure of preaching in the house 
formerly occupied by Tamafainga, whose merciless 
tyranny exasperated the people until they rose up 
and killed him, and to avenge whose death the war 
mentioned in the early part of this chapter was under- 
taken. On the 25th of October, a new plastered 
chapel, capable of containing five hundred people, 
was opened in Upolu. At this time about six hun- 
dred persons professed the Christian name in Mr. 
Heath's district, the number of baptized natives was 
five hundred and eighty-seven, and those united in 
the fellowship of the church eighty-three. All except 
the oldest people could read, and many had learned 
to write. 

At Savaii soon after Mr, Hardy began to preach, 
two young men, sons of chiefs, attended worship 
regularly at the chapel. For some time no apparent 
impression was made on their minds, or any change 
effected in their sinful practices. They had each 
several wives, and seemed entirely abandoned to 
vice. As they continued, however, to attend the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 329 

preaching of the Gospel, they became more thought- 
ful, and manifested considerable attention to the 
Word. They were at length convicted of the folly 
and sinfulness of their former lives, a dread of the 
anger of God seized them, and they were led to 
seek salvation through the merits of the Saviour. 
The struggle must have been great before they came 
to the determination to abandon their former practices 
and embrace the Gospel, as they had to combat not 
only the anger and influence of their families, and 
to act in direct opposition to the customs of the land, 
but also to overcome the deep-rooted habits of sin 
cherished by them from their childhood. 

The missionaries in all these islands devoted a 
portion of their time to the preparation of native 
teachers, many of whom have already commenced 
the work of instruction among their countrymen. 

The last accounts from this group of islands is 
of the most interesting and encouraging character. 
Mr. Heath estimates that there are now on the island 
of Upolu twenty thousand persons who have embraced 
Christianity. On Manono all the inhabitants, con- 
sisting of about two thousand, are professedly Chris- 
tians. At Savaii there are from twelve to thirteen 
thousand converts. On Tutuila there are six thou- 
sand, and several hundreds on the smaller islands.* 
What a contrast with the condition of the natives 
in 1830, when the heralds of salvation first visited 

* London Missionary Chronicle, March, 1840. 



330 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

their shores, does this account present ! " Then, 
their beautiful country was ' burned with fire; 1 rapine, 
murder, cannibalism, crimes and horrors at which 
the heart sickens, generally prevailed ; now, with 
wonder and gratitude the messengers of mercy ex- 
claim, ' Behold how good and pleasant a thing it is 
for brethren to dwell together in unity.' And this 
change, as great as it is blessed, has been effected 
within the short space of ten years. Truly may we 
exclaim, < What hath God wrought ! ' " 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS, THE PEARL ISLANDS, AND 
THE MARQUESAS. 

Mission commenced at Tongataboo — Its failure — Mission revived — 
Condition of the Friendly Islands in 1823 — Success of the Mission — 
Letter from a Missionary — War at Tonga — Encouraging appear- 
ances — State of the schools — Mission commenced in the Pearl 
lslauds— Notices of the different islands — Mission commenced at 
Marquesas — Its results — Roman Catholic missionaries. 

Compared with the important events which have 
been related in the preceding chapters, the few facts 
that can be stated respecting the three remaining 
groups embraced in the plan of this work are of little 
interest. Reference to these clusters might perhaps 
be omitted altogether, did not completeness of view in 
regard to the operations of the London Missionary 
Society seem to require a brief notice of the attempts 
made to extend the Gospel to them. 

In March, 1797, Captain Wilson, after settling the 
first missionaries at Tahiti, sailed for Tongataboo, 
one of the Friendly Islands, with the view of estab- 
lishing a mission in that group. He left there ten 
missionaries, three of whom were killed shortly after. 



332 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

The remaining seven, after laboring three years and 
suffering incredible hardships, being frequently threat- 
ened with death, were at length obliged to leave the 
island. These disasters appear to have been occa- 
sioned by the influence of a man by the name of 
Morgan, a convict who had escaped from Botany Bay, 
and who was residing on the island when the 
missionaries arrived. This man gave the missiona- 
ries so much annoyance that they found it necessary to 
expose his true character to the natives; inconse- 
quence of which, he was treated with contempt and 
obliged to submit to many insults. He was able, 
however, to persuade the chiefs that the missionaries 
were emissaries sent by the king of England to get 
possession of the land ; fhat the deaths by an epidemic 
which was then raging were owing to their influence; 
that by means of their singing and praying they would 
at last cause the destruction of the whole population; 
and that the only safety of the natives consisted in 
putting them to death. Three were accordingly 
murdered, (as has been stated,) and the remainder 
made their escape to Port Jackson. Morgan him- 
self was afterwards killed, on account of his laying 
claim to the same power with the abuse of which he 
charged the missionaries. A chief whose father he 
pretended to have prayed to death, avenged himself by 
killing the possessor of so dangerous an art. 

For more than twenty years after the unfortunate 
termination of this attempt to establish a mission at 
Tongataboo, the natives of the Friendly Islands 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 333 

remained without missionaries. At length Mr. Lawry, 
with some mechanics, members of the Methodist 
Society at Sydney, New South Wales, sailed from that 
place and commenced a missionary station in Tonga- 
taboo. This was in August, 1822. The mission 
which was then established is under the patronage of 
the English Wesley an Missionary Society. Although 
the plan of this work does not extend beyond the 
operations of the London Missionary Society, yet as 
the Methodist mission at Tongataboo is established 
upon ground which was originally occupied by 
that society, a brief notice of the progress and present 
condition of the mission may not be uninteresting. 
The natives at first received the new missionaries 
with much kindness, and manifested a strong desire to 
receive instruction. But the turbulence of their dis- 
position soon showed itself, and their superstitious 
fears were easily aroused by such of the chiefs as were 
opposed to the new lotu, or religion. 

" An old chief named Mafe Malanga, said that the 
white people were come as spies, and would soon be 
followed by others from England, who would take 
away the island from them. ' See/ said he, * these 
people are always praying to their atuas, as the other 
missionaries were; and what was the consequence of 
their praying ? Why, the wars broke out, and all the 
old chiefs were killed.' " * 

In January, 182:*, the Sydney Gazette contained 

* History of Missions, ii. 178. 



334 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the following statement. " The barriers to the estab- 
lishment of a mission in the Friendly Islands appeared 
extremely formidable to encounter. Hardly a ship 
could, once, touch without bloodshed. Upwards of 
twenty years since, it is within recollection, that 
several gentlemen from the London Missionary 
Society were landed there ; but operations with them 
had scarcely begun, ere most of the party were butch- 
ered, while some providentially effected an escape. 
Those islands are aggregated at about one hundred 
and eighty-eight, and for nearly the last twenty years 
the inhabitants have been engaged in sanguinary wars. 
About eight years since, war raged with dreadful 
fury ; another was waged about four years ago ; and 
the last has only terminated two years. It is 
acknowledged by the natives, that a depopulation of 
one half of the islands has occurred in those contests, 
which are conducted in a way far more horrible and 
bloody than can be well conceived by Europeans. 
Those islanders now, however, are in the enjoyment 
of tranquillity, appear to be heartily sickened of war ; 
and the fields are therefore ' white to the harvest.' " * 
In October of this year, Mr. and Mrs. Lawry 
returned to Sydney, and for the two succeeding years 
there were no missionaries at Tongataboo. But in 
1825, the mission was revived under favorable auspices, 
by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas from England, and Mn 
Hutchinson from New South Wales, who were soon 

* History of Missions, ii, 179. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 335 

after joined by Messrs. Turner and Cross. From this 
period the mission in Tongataboo gradually gained 
ground amidst much opposition, and Vavou, the 
Habai Islands, and the Fejee Islands were succes- 
sively visited and missionary stations established on 
them. 

The following is an extract from the journal of 
one of the missionaries, dated June 7, 1829. " For- 
ever praised be the Lord for this blessed day. At 
nine in the morning, the chapel was uncommonly 
full ■ not less than five hundred persons were present. 
A divine influence rested upon us at the commence- 
ment of our service. After singing and the first 
prayer, seven men, two of whom are chiefs, made a 
solemn and public renunciation of all the gods of 
Tonga, and professed their faith in the doctrines of 
our holy religion, after which the sacred rite of bap- 
tism was administered to them by Mr. Cross. The 
chapel was very full in the afternoon, when I baptized 
eight adult females, and three children whose parents 
had been previously baptized. In the evening, for 
the first time in the Tonga language, we celebrated 
the sacrament of the Lord's super ; twenty-six natives 
partook with us of the sacred emblems of the body 
and blood of Christ; and oh with what solemnity of 
soul did they draw near to the table of the Lord ! 
Relative to the nature and design of the sacred ordi- 
nance we had previously instructed them, so that we 
were satisfied that they did not rush unthinkingly 
into the presence of the Lord. Many of them have 



336 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

very exalted views of our Lord Jesus Christ and of 
his atonement." * 

According to the Report of the Wesley an Mis- 
sionary Society for 1838, there were in Tonga and 
the Habai Islands each two missionaries, in Vavou 
three, in the Fejee Islands seven. Respecting Tonga 
it is stated that " the apprehensions which had for 
some time past been entertained, have been unhap- 
pily realized. The heathen party, who had long 
manifested the greatest antipathy to Christianity, at 
length determined to attempt its extirpation by force 
of arms, and at the beginning of the last year com- 
menced war upon the Christians. Although the 
Committee cannot regard this war with any other 
than very painful feelings, they indulge the hope that 
it will be eventually overruled by the providence of 
God for the advancement of his cause. The heathen 
have been frustrated in their designs, their power is 
broken, and it appears probable that the missionaries 
will now be able to carry the Gospel into every part 
of Tonga." t 

The missionaries write thus : " Considering the 
awful state of this island during the months of Jan- 
uary, February, and part of March, 18*37, when 
parents, in many instances, were up in arms against 
children, and children against parents, and the great 
majority of the inhabitants in rebellion against the 

* History of Missions, ii. 82. 

t Report of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, 1838, p. 38. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 337 

king, because of their hatred to that Christianity 
which he had embraced, we have abundant cause for 
thanksgiving and praise in what we now see and hear. 
While the great question was pending whether Chris- 
tianity or heathenism should be dominant here, this 
station, with every thing connected with it, was 
placed in very critical circumstances ; but, blessed 
be God, he has maintained his own cause, and the 
things which have happened have turned rather to the 
furtherance of the Gospel. The din of war is no 
longer heard ; the Lord has caused the wrath of man 
to praise him, while the remainder of wrath he has 
restrained. The heathen now acknowledge that 
" the Lord he is God ;■" yet so awfully infatuated and 
hardened are they, that they still adhere to what they 
themselves acknowledge to be a system of lies. The 
whole island is in a state of peace; the heathen, in 
consequence of the severe punishment inflicted on 
them, dare not persecute, for fear of King George 
Taufaahau, whose very name, almost, strikes terror 
into them. Yet the Christians have not thought it 
prudent to remove out of the fortresses, lest their 
enemies should take advantage of it, and murder 
many of them ; for such scenes used generally to 
follow the proclamation of peace in the Friendly 
Islands" * 

In 1838, there were seven different stations on the 
island, fifteen schools, containing one hundred and 

* Report of Wesleyan Missionary Society, 1838, pp. 38, 39. 
22 



338 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

seventy-three teachers, and one thousand and sixty- 
seven scholars. " All the schools are conducted on 
strictly religious principles ; they are invariably com- 
menced and concluded with singing and prayer, and 
are attended by all ranks, from the king and queen, 
to the meanest of their subjects, and by persons of all 
ages, from infancy to hoary hairs. We have near 
eighty local preachers, and about the same number 
of class-leaders, male and female : they have one 
hundred and thirty classes. The number of members 
in society is one thousand and fifty, being an increase 
of eighty-six during the year ; there are one hundred 
and twenty now on trial. There have been one hun- 
dred and eight children baptized on this station 
during the year, and eighty adults ; and thirty-four 
marriages solemnized." 

Of the other islands, the report for 1S38 states, 
that in Habai and Vavou, there is not much room 
for the spread of Christianity by an extension of the 
boundaries of the church ; because already the 
people at those groups have generally embraced the 
true religion, and are now united together in Christian 
fellowship. At the stations in Vavou there were 
forty-seven schools and three thousand five hundred 
scholars. There were also ninety local preachers, 
and three thousand three hundred class-members. 
At the Habai Islands there were fifty-three schools, 
containing nearly three thousand scholars. The same 
Report contains a notice of an agreement between the 
Wesleyan and London Missionary Society, in regard 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 339 

to their respective spheres of labor. " An important 
arrangement has been concluded in the past year, 
by which this Society has become especially respon- 
sible for supplying the Fejeeans with the means of 
religious instruction. To prevent embarrassing col- 
lisions between the missionaries of different commu- 
nions employed in the Islands of the South Sea, the 
Agents of the London Society will henceforth ex- 
clusively occupy the Navigators' Islands, and those 
of this Society, the Fejee Islands. In the Report of 
last year the gratifying announcement was made of 
the commencement of a new mission at Lakcmba, 
one of the islands of the Fejee group, by the Rev. 
Messrs. Cross and Cargill ; and feeling the weight of 
obligation which is imposed upon them by the 
before-mentioned arrangement, as well as encouraged 
by liberal offers of support from many friends of the 
Society, the committee have resolved to prosecute 
this favorable opening, by increasing the number of 
missionaries in Fejee to seven, and by sending a press 
for the use of the mission. Messrs. Hunt, Jaggar, 
and Calvert, with their wives, have recently embarked 
for this distant part of the world, which, on account 
of the peculiarly ferocious character of its inhabi- 
tants, is as yet but little known to Europeans. Before 
the sailor and the merchant will dare to frequent 
those now inhospitable shores, the missionary must 
prosecute his labor of love amidst privations and 
hardships; and when he shall have succeeded in 
taming and humanizing the people, Fejee may then 



340 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

become what the once savage New Zealand has 
already been made by a course of missionary labor 
and suffering — a place of safe resort."* 

Of the Fejee group one of the missionaries writes, 
in 1836, " By the term Fejee, or Vetee, is desig- 
nated that numerous and extensive group of islands 
which occupies this part of the Pacific Ocean. Those 
who have been sailing among them for several years, 
trading for sandal-wood, beech le maar, and tortoise 
shell, say, that nearly 300 islands are inhabited ; and 
that the population amounts to nearly 200,000 souls. 
The islands are in general situated at a great distance 
from each other ; and many of them are very large. 

* In the summer of 1840, the United States' Exploring Ex- 
pedition visited the Fejee Islands, and surveyed the whole 
group. While engaged in this business, a party went ashore 
on the island of Mallolo to purchase provisions. It was 
known that the inhabitants were not to be trusted, and pre- 
cautions were taken to prevent surprise. While negotiating for 
supplies, they were suddenly attacked by about fifty of the 
natives, and two officers of the party were killed, Lieut. Un- 
derwood, and Midshipman Henry. The bodies were recov- 
ered, and the next day buried on an uninhabited island. Two 
days after, Commodore Wilkes with all the force at his com- 
mand, landed at Mallolo, reduced two towns to ashes, killed 
and wounded many of the warriors, and destroyed their pro- 
perty and provisions. The next day about fifty of the natives 
came suing for pardon and peace. Their petition was granted 
by the Commander, on their giving positive assurance of future 
good conduct towards the whites, and furnishing supplies of 
wood, water, and fruit. The cause of the attack upon the 
officers was not satisfactorily ascertained. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 341 

One of them is said to be three hundred miles in 
circumference. Although English, American, and 
French vessels have been trading amongst the Fejees> 
since, or I might say, before the year 1800, yet it 
does not appear that the interior of any of the large 
islands has ever been explored." * 

In the early part of the reign of Pomare II., king 
of Tahiti, many of the inhabitants of the Paumotu or 
Pearl Islands fled to the Georgian Islands for security 
during the prevalence of a war. They were protected 
and hospitably entertained by Pomare, and when the 
Tahitians renounced idolatry, they also cast away 
the idols they had brought with them, and placed 
themselves under the instruction of the missionaries. 
In 1827, they returned to their own islands, and 
immediately after their arrival, Moorea, one of the 
number, who had learned to read and had been hope- 
fully converted, began to instruct his countrymen. 
He met with such success, that with the exception of 
the inhabitants of one district the whole population 
agreed to renounce heathenism. Moorea was sub- 
sequently charged with having deceived his country- 
men in the accounts he had given of the change at 
Tahiti, and, to save his life, was obliged to leave the 
island. But when the people afterwards became con- 
vinced that they had accused him falsely, they burnt 
their idols and demolished their temples. Several 

* Report, 1838, p. 50. 



342 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

hundreds of them soon after sailed to Tahiti, a dis- 
tance of three hundred miles, for the purpose of 
obtaining books and receiving instruction. They 
placed themselves under the care of the missionaries 
there, and before they left the island several of them 
were admitted to Christian fellowship. Early in the 
year 1822, Moorea and Teraa, another Christian 
native, were publicly set apart as teachers, and soon 
after sailed for Anaa, or Chain Island. Shortly 
afterwards a canoe from this island arrived at Tahiti 
bringing the pleasing intelligence that the inhabitants 
were willing to receive Christianity, that war, canni- 
balism, and idolatry had ceased, and that a place of 
worship w r as building in every district. Two other 
native teachers were afterwards sent to these islands. 

Chain Island, when visited by Mr. Crook, in 1825, 
presented a scene of ruin and desolation, occasioned 
by a violent tempest, which had been accompanied 
by an inundation of the sea. Hundreds of large 
trees torn up by the roots were strewn in wild confu- 
sion on the shore, and fourteen places of worship, 
with a large number of dwellings were levelled to the 
ground. Many lives were also destroyed. Mr. Crook 
was gratified to learn that the inhabitants often other 
islands had received native teachers. 

This archipelago was subsequently visited by 
Captain Beechy, who gives an interesting account of 
the native teachers whom he saw. Speaking of his 
intercourse with the people of an island which he calls 
Byam Martin Island, he observes, " We soon dis* 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 343 

covered that our little colony were Christians. They 
took an early opportunity to convince us of this, and 
that they had both Testaments and Hymn books 
printed in the Otaheitan language. Some of the 
girls repeated hymns, and the greater part evinced a 
respect for the sacred books which reflects much 
credit upon the missionaries, under whose care we 
could no longer doubt they had at one time been." 

Bow Island also was visited by Captain Beechy, 
who, after having spoken of the former condition of 
the inhabitants, mentions that the supercargo of an 
English vessel had hired a party of the natives of Chain 
Island to dive for shells. " Among these," says he, 
" was a native missionary, a very well-behaved man, 
who used every effort to convert his new acquain- 
tances to Christianity. He persevered amid much 
silent ridicule, and at length succeeded in persuading 
the greater part of the islanders to conform to the 
ceremonies of Christian worship. It was interesting 
to contemplate a body of savages, abandoning their 
superstitions, silently and reverently kneeling upon 
the sandy shore, and joining in the morning and 
evening prayers to the Almighty." 

In 1797, Captain Wilson, after landing the mission- 
aries at Tahiti and Tongataboo, sailed for the Mar- 
quesas. At Santa Christina he left Mr. Crook, who, 
after residing on the island about a year, became dis- 
couraged and returned to Tahiti. No other attempt 
was made to introduce Christianity into this island 



344 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

until 1821, when two natives from Huahine were 
sent as teachers. During the voyage, circumstances 
occurred which prevented them from settling at the 
place of their original destination, and led to their 
residence at the Sandwich Islands. In 1825, Mr. 
Crook returned to Santa Christina with two native 
teachers from Huahine and one from Tahiti. He 
found that some of the inhabitants had destroyed 
their idols, but the greater part were exceedingly 
rude, vicious, and disorderly in their behaviour, and 
strongly attached to their superstitions. After re- 
maining about a month among them, Mr. Crook left 
the native teachers under the protection of a friendly 
chief. Their prospects of usefulness were at first 
encouraging, but the wickedness of the people was so 
great, their conduct so violent and alarming, that the 
Tahitians (whom they threatened to kill and devour) 
were obliged to return. They were succeeded by 
.others in 1826, who were obliged to leave in 1828. 
In the following year, Messrs. Pritchard and Sampson 
visited the islands, but so turbulent and repulsive was 
the conduct of the natives, that they deemed the 
establishment of a mission impracticable. In 1831, 
Mr. Darling, one of the missionaries stationed at 
Tahiti, visited the Marquesas, and on his return to 
that island, presented a report of his expedition to 
his brethren, who immediately determined to recom- 
mend to the Missionary Society to commence a mis- 
sion in that group. The Directors of the Society, 
learning that the Marquesians were desirous to 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 345 

obtain European missionaries, and that there was 
reason to believe that they were now disposed to 
receive instruction, sent out, in 1833, two mission- 
aries, Messrs. Rodgerson and Stallworthy, to com- 
mence a mission in those islands. Having been 
joined at Tahiti by Mr. Darling and four Tahitians, 
they were kindly received at Santa Christina by 
Iotete, the king. The missionaries soon informed 
him of their errand, and inquired whether it was 
agreeable to him that they should come and live 
among them, and tell them of the true God, and the 
way of salvation. The king consented, and promised 
to protect them. He also gave them half of his own 
house for their residence. Mr. Darling immediately 
commenced preaching to the people and had usually 
a congregation of from sixty to one hundred. During 
service they generally behaved well, but evinced a 
strong attachment to their idolatrous practices. A 
school was soon opened and attended by about seventy 
women and children. Mr. Darling continued to 
preach the Gospel and to make known to the people 
the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. They 
listened with interest, made many inquiries about the 
new doctrines which they heard, and some of them 
even said that it was " very good," and promised that 
they would embrace the Gospel. In a tour of the 
island, which the missionaries made, conversing with 
the people and preaching as they had opportunity, 
the natives appeared pleased, and requested that the 
visits might be repeated. It was evident, however, 



346 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

that they expected some great temporal blessing as 
the result of attending to the instructions received, 
and many, when they found that they were not likely 
to be benefitted in this way, withdrew from them 
altogether. 

In March, 1837, six missionaries with their wives, 
bound for the Navigators' Islands, stopped at Santa 
Christina, and spent several days with their brethren 
at that island. The arrival of so many Europeans 
greatly interested the natives, who were all anxious 
to see the strangers. The visit of these missionaries 
together with other circumstances, seemed to produce 
a good impression on the people, and led them to 
assemble to hear the Gospel in greater numbers than 
before. Mr. Rodgerson subsequently visited Do- 
minica, where his message was treated by some with 
neglect, but the greater number listened with seri- 
ousness, and expressed a wish that missionaries 
might be sent to reside among them. These encour- 
aging appearances, however, gradually disappeared, 
and the faith of the missionaries was severely tried 
when they saw the people relapse again into indif- 
ference. Confiding, however, in the promises of 
God, and looking to Him to crown their labors with 
success, they continued their efforts to benefit the 
people. Hitherto the missionaries had been permit- 
ted to live in peace, and the natives, though not all 
friendly, had manifested no desire to injure them. 
But in the latter part of 1837, an attempt was made 
to set on fire the mission premises. The incendiary 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 347 

was, however, discovered, and would probably have 
forfeited his life had not Mr. Rodgerson exerted his 
influence to have him spared. This occurrence im- 
pressed the missionaries with the necessity of taking 
measures for their better protection in future, and 
confirmed them in the belief that it was advisable for 
them to remain together. Soon after this event a 
fierce and sanguinary contest broke out between 
Iotete and the chiefs of one of the adjoining districts. 
The missionaries in vain employed the most earnest 
entreaties and expostulations to prevent hostilities; 
and Iotete having succeeded, after a battle of several 
days' continuance, in defeating his enemies, took 
possession of their land. 

In October, 1838, Mr. Rodgerson relinquished his 
station at Santa Christina, and removed with his 
family to Borabora, where he occupied the place 
of Mr. Piatt, who had gone to Raiatea. In refer- 
ence to his removal, he says, " I did not leave the 
poor Marquesians without pain of mind, being con- 
vinced how much they need even increased efforts to 
be made on their behalf, to deliver them from the 
power of the Prince of darkness by whom they are 
led captive at his will. Nothing should ever have 
induced me to take such a step could I possibly have 
remained with my family. " After Mr. Rodgerson's 
removal from Santa Christina, Mr. Stall worthy pur- 
sued his solitary labors until he was joined by Mr. 
Thomas. 

In August, 1838, two Roman Catholic mission- 



348 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

aries from the Popish College at Valparaiso were 
brought to the island by the French frigate La Venus. 
Mr. Stallworthy made strong objections to their 
settling at any station where missionaries had been 
placed by the London Missionary Society, but with- 
out effect. The chief having received several pre- 
sents from the Captain of the frigate, cordially received 
the priests, and gave them a piece of land for a gar- 
den. He, however, evinced an unshaken attachment 
to the missionary who resided on the island, but the 
people showed the same indifference to the Gospel 
which they had always done. Early in the following 
year seven more Romish missionaries arrived at 
Santa Christina, and established themselves in various 
parts of the island. The imposing ceremonies con- 
nected with their worship, their insinuating manners, 
and their skill in operating on the self-interested mo- 
tives of the people have not been without effect. No 
general movement has, however, taken place in their 
favor, and the religious instruction communicated by 
the missionaries continues to be well received. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

RECENT EFFORTS TO EXTEND THE SOUTH SEA 
MISSIONS. 

Mr. Williams's visit to England — Interest excited there— Purchase 
of a missionary ship — Missionary meeting-^Address of Mr. Ellis- 
Address of Mr. Williams — Sailing of the Camden- — Arrival at 
Sydney — Visit to the New Hebrides — Murder of Messrs. Williams 
and Harris — Native College. 

The Reverend Mr. Williams, whose name has 
been often mentioned in this narrative, accompanied 
by Mrs. Williams, left England in 1816, and in the 
following year entered on his labors in the Society 
Islands. The account which we have given of the 
efforts of the missionaries in those Islands, and of the 
introduction of the Gospel into the Hervey and the 
Navigators' groups, will sufficiently illustrate the 
diligence, energy, and zeal with which his work was 
prosecuted. 

After seventeen years of unremitted toil, the illness 
of both Mr. and Mrs. Williams obliged them, in 
1833, to leave the Islands. In June of the following 
year, they arrived in England. His own health and 
that of Mrs. Williams having been recruited by the 



350 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

voyage, and by a residence of four years in England, 
Mr. W. became anxious to return to the scene of his 
former labors. The plan proposed by him was to 
undertake an exploring voyage among the groups 
situated between the Navigators' Islands and New 
Guinea, and to place on them native teachers. For 
the prosecution of this object, it was deemed advisable 
to purchase a ship which should be exclusively devoted 
to missionary purposes. In order to procure the 
necessary means, an Appeal was made to Christians 
in England, which was speedily responded to in a 
very generous manner. Mr. Williams visited several 
parts of the kingdom, and in every place where he 
invited attention to the subject, the plan was cordially 
approved, and liberally patronised. The interest 
which Mr. Williams's Narrative excited throughout 
England, seconded by his personal representations, 
was so great that he found easy access to the hearts 
and the charities of those whom he addressed. 

The Duke of Devonshire was the first nobleman 
who expressed his good feeling to the cause, and 
testified that feeling by a liberal donation. Among 
others who contributed, were the Duke and Duchess 
of Northumberland, and Earl Fitz William, who 
made a donation of £>]0Q. 

The value of the contributions of the English 
nobility, is increased by the consideration of their 
ecclesiastical relations. These are referred to in a 
letter from the Earl of Chichester to "Mr. Williams. 
" Though the aristocracy of this country are, I 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 351 

believe, without exception, members of the estab- 
lished church, there are instances of not a few of 
them, liberally contributing to the missionary efforts 
of other Christians; and, for my part, I can truly 
say, that notwithstanding those predilections and 
attachments to which I yet adhere, I feel convinced 
that, in contemplating with due affection the great 
work of preaching the Gospel to the heathen, we 
must merge all minor differences, in one united 
stream of loyalty and love to our blessed Redeemer.' 1 

At Birmingham, a gentleman having been in- 
troduced to Mr. Williams, said to him that he had 
brought fifty pounds, and if two or three hundred 
were required, he should feel pleasure in devoting it 
to such a purpose. 

Among the tradesmen also, who were engaged in 
fitting out the vessel, the same delightful feeling was 
displayed. " After Mr. Fletcher had put the vessel 
in thorough order, and rendered her in every way 
sea-worthy, instead of sending us in a bill for c£400, 
he addressed to the Directors of the London Mission- 
ary Society a Christian letter, stating, that he felt 
gratitude to God that he was able to give such a 
donation to so good a cause. Then, again, a pilot, 
a perfect stranger, came and solicited the privilege of 
gratuitously piloting the vessel from London, which 
would have cost us £20 or £25. The individual 
who supplies ships with filtered water, has filled our 
casks with upwards of twenty tons ; and instead of 
receiving payment, which would, perhaps, have been 



352 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

forty or fifty shillings, on being asked the amount, 
his reply was, ' I know what this ship is going for, 
and I too will have the pleasure of giving a cup of 
cold water.' " 

Application for aid had been made to the Common 
Council of the city of London, and a Committee of 
that body in a Report made March 22, 1838, say, 
"As the design of the petitioner [Mr. "Williams] is 
to extend these disinterested exertions for the yet 
almost numberless, unvisited Polynesian Islands, in- 
habited by millions of savages, in order that the same 
great work of civilization, with all the blessings of 
peace, good government, religion, and commerce 
may be there promoted and established, we your 
Committee are of opinion that this Honorable Court 
should afford a liberal countenance and support to so 
noble and so great a work, by subscribing the sum of 
,£500, which we recommend should be immediately 
placed at the disposal of the petitioner and the acting 
managers of the proposed expedition, Mr. "Williams 
being about to proceed on his enterprising voyage 
in the beginning of the ensuing month." The 
recommendation of the Committee was adopted with 
only three dissenting voices, out of three hundred, 
and the money was paid. 

A sum more than sufficient for the purchase of a 
ship was soon raised, and the Directors of the Mis- 
sionary Society purchased the Camden, a vessel of 
two hundred tons burthen. Every arrangement for 
the safety of the vessel and the comfort of the 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 353 

passengers was made as soon as possible, and on the 
4th of April, 1S3S, a meeting was held in London, 
at which Mr. and Mrs. Williams and ten other mis- 
sionaries, one of whom was Mr. John Williams, Jr., 
received their parting instructions. The meeting 
was one of intense interest. Among the addresses 
made at this meeting was one by Mr Ellis, in which 
he briefly sketched the Origin, Progress, and Future 
Prospects of the South Sea Mission. After speaking 
of the voyage of the Duff more than sixty years 
before, he adverted to the condition of the natives 
of the Georgian and Society Islands when the first 
missionaries arrived among them. " The land," 
said he, " was full of idols, from the house of the 
highest chief to the hut of the lowest peasant. From 
one end of the group to the other there were to be 
found the idols of individuals, the idols of families, 
the idols of districts, and the idols of the nation. 
The land was not only filled with idols, but with 
idol temples ; every point of land which projected 
into the sea was surmounted by a heathen temple; 
every lovely valley was disfigured by the rude 
marae erected there for the purpose of idol worship. 
Whether you travelled across the mountain range or 
the deep ravine, along the sea shore or the verdant 
valley, you saw the temples of the idols of the 
country. It was also a land of priests, but they 
were priests of darkness ; you would scarcely find 
a family in which some member of it was not a 
priest. If I were to select one designation by which 
23 



354 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the inhabitants of the Georgian and Society Islands, 
as compared with those of other groups in the Pacific, 
might be characterized, it would be that they were 
a nation wholly given to idolatry. 

" Their social state was not better. You have 
heard of the extent to which infanticide prevailed 
amongst them. Our honored brother who has been 
there, and who is about to return,* has himself had 
an opportunity of conversing with individuals whose 
own hands have been imbrued in the blood of not 
fewer than eighteen of their own innocent offspring. 
Other parts of the system were equally cruel ; not 
only did they murder their children, but the helpless 
and aged were often destroyed. They were pierced 
with a spear, they were buried alive, they were 
starved to death, in order to avoid the inconveniences 
of nursing or attending to them in sickness or old 
age. War, you have heard, is the delight of savages 
— war prevailed among the inhabitants of the South 
Seas — war and superstition appeared to be the great 
objects of their lives, and war was carried on with the 
most unrelenting cruelty; wars of extermination were 
pursued under the influence of the most implacable 
hatred and malice." 

In contrast with the state of society at that period, 
Mr. Ellis drew a picture of the islanders at the 
present time. " Throughout the entire group called 
the Georgian and Society Islands, and others within 
some hundred miles around that group, which, at the 
time our brethren landed, were full of idols, there is 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 355 

not now a single idol to be found, and I was about 
to say, not a temple, or a vestige of a temple ; but 
the ruins of a few temples, standing on projecting 
points of land, in uninhabited parts of the country, 
may still be seen. The relics of some temples form 
the foundations of the sanctuaries of God, and of 
schools in which hundreds of children are daily 
assembled to read, in their own language, the wonder- 
ful works of God. In addition to the destruction of 
the idols, there is now not to be found a single priest. 
The priests became members of our churches, teachers 
of our schools, helpers to the missionaries; or they 
have become native missionaries, who have gone 
forth to preach that faith which they long labored 
to destroy. Not only are there no idols, no temples, 
and no priests, but there is not a single heathen rite 
publicly maintained among them ; all have passed 
away as if it had been a vision, all is now only a 
matter of history, or tradition among them. 

" Not only has their idolatry been entirely de- 
stroyed, but they have been raised from the abject 
state of wretchedness and degradation to which idol- 
atry had reduced them. Science did nothing towards 
this end. Philosophers, who went out to watch the 
transit of Venus, did nothing towards this. Their 
early visiters sunk them still lower, and left them in 
still more affecting wretchedness and degradation 
than they found them. But the missionary raised 
them; the principles of that Gospel which the mis- 
sionary carried purified them; the missionary elevated 



356 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

their moral character ; and though the missionary 
still has to deplore the remains of that depravity 
which nothing but the grace of God can subdue, 
yet he can point to Tahiti and the adjacent islands, 
as irrefragable evidence of the influence and power 
of the Gospel for raising the most polluted and 
degraded people to a state of moral rectitude, corres- 
ponding with that, I hesitate not to say, which will 
be found among an equal portion of many parts of 
the population of our own country. Marriage [in 
the Christian sense] was unknown among them, but 
it has been introduced, and prevails extensively. All 
the household comforts, all the domestic happiness 
that flow from it, not only exist, but are extensively 
enjoyed by the inhabitants of those lands. Their 
children are now no longer destroyed, but are cher- 
ished with all the tenderness that the kindest Chris- 
tian parents could bestow. The aged are no longer 
buried alive, nor left to perish for want, nor trans- 
fixed by the spear for the purpose of relieving their 
children from the trouble of taking care o£ them ; 
but they are nursed ; their wants are supplied; medi- 
cine is administered ; and in many places persons 
are appointed to visit them, to read the Scriptures, 
and to pray with them. And while they thus smooth 
their passage to the grave, they endeavor to open to 
them the passage leading to a glorious immortality. 
These are the advantages which have resulted to 
them in their social state. 

" Their language was rude and unformed ; letters 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 357 

were altogether beyond their comprehension ; but 
their language has been reduced to a system ; orthog- 
raphy has been given to it ; books have been printed 
in it. Schools have been established; the natives 
have been taught reading; the holy Scriptures have 
been translated, and are now in circulation amongst 
them. The press has been at work for a number of 
years; and in addition to other things, they have 
now the commencement of a periodical literature, 
diffusing intelligence, and, we trust, piety also among 
all classes of the community. There were, according 
to the last accounts received from the Islands, up- 
wards of 15,000 scholars under instruction, besides 
those who had received instruction in previous years. 
I will only mention one other fact illustrative of the 
change, and that is, that there are in these Islands 
eighteen Christian churches. The returns from many 
of the Islands have not been made for some time; 
but according to the last returns, there were between 
two and three thousand natives who were in fellow* 
ship among these eighteen churches." 

The trials which the missionaries had endured 
were next adverted to. These were three — the 
natural indolence of the people, the introduction 
of heresies among them, and the existence of civil 
war. " But the greatest discouragement, " said Mr. 
Ellis, " has arisen from the unprincipled seamen 
who have settled among the natives and created vast 
mischief. Another source of evil has arisen from 
the introduction of ardent spirits. That has been 



358 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

carried on with an industry most shameful, and has 
required, on behalf of the natives exposed to its 
deadly evils, the tenderest sympathy, and the vigorous 
efforts of Christians, to check the evil." 

An interesting feature in the history of this mission, 
Mr. Ellis said, is " that the islanders have shown 
the great principle of the Gospel to be one of self- 
propagation, and the spirit it implants to be one of 
self-consecration. No sooner did they themselves 
understand the Gospel, and feel its power in their 
own hearts, than the prayer was offered up that God 
would graciously have compassion on the ignorant 
around, and efforts were made for the purpose of 
communicating to them that knowledge which they 
themselves possessed. In addition to this, they came 
forward, expressing their readiness to go and tell 
others of the name of Jesus, and point them to the 
Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. 
It is a pleasing fact, that there is no group of islands 
within about three or four thousand miles of Tahiti, 
now favored with the light of the Gospel, which has 
not in part, if not altogether, been thus visited 
through the instrumentality of the Christians of these 
islands. And God has eminently honored the native 
Christians as the means of diffusing the Gospel far 
and wide amongst the nations of the Pacific." * 

An address was also made at this meeting by 
Mr. Williams, who stated the objects which he had 

* The Missionary's Farewell, pp. 26—34. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 359 

in view in the voyage he was about to undertake. 
The first was to reinforce the stations already com- 
menced in the South Sea. Another object was the 
establishment of a college for the instruction of native 
missionaries, and the third to endeavor to extend the 
Gospel to every island and every group between the 
Navigators' Islands and New Guinea. In reference 
to the temporal advantages which would result from 
the civilization of the inhabitants of these Islands, 
Mr. Williams remarked, that " no ship had ever been 
taken and no blood shed at any island after the 
inhabitants had been brought under Christian in- 
struction." 

In the course of his remarks, Mr. Williams alluded 
to the dangers to which he should be exposed in the 
prosecution of his plans. " The people at some 
islands which we propose visiting," said he, " are 
particularly savage. But we recollect how we have 
been preserved; we recollect the gracious declaration 
that the arm of God is not shortened that it cannot 
save, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear. 
Thus encouraged we shall go forward ; and, should 
God in his providence so arrange it that we fall in 
the conflict, there is still a sweet consolation to the 
mind. Allow me to illustrate the idea by a circum- 
stance which I heard related in reference to a certain 
celebrated play-actor. I believe he had retired from 
the stage in the midst of his popularity, and thereby 
occasioned great dissatisfaction to those to whose 
pleasure he had administered. A friend remonstrated 



3C0 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

with him ; nay, I believe, a deputation waited upon 
him to request him to return again to the stage. 
Mark his striking reply. ' I feel that there must be 
a gap between the stage and death/ Now, the mis- 
sionary wants no gap between his work and his 
death ; and therefore, should God call us to suffer in 
his cause, we trust that we shall have grace to bow 
with submission to his will, knowing that others will 
be raised up in his providence to carry into effect that 
work which we have been employed to commence." * 
The intimations in Mr. Williams's parting speech 
seem to have been almost prophetic. Had he and 
his audience known how soon these intimations were 
to be changed into sad realities, the tender sympathies 
of the assembly, already sufficiently excited, would 
have been converted into bursts of irrepressible 
emotion. 

On the llth of April, 1838, the missionaries, 
accompanied by the Directors of the Missionary So- 
ciety and a large circle of friends and acquaintances, 
went on board the steamer (then lying at London 
bridge) which was to convey them to the ship. " An 
hour before the time fixed on for leaving the wharf, 
every spot from which a view of the steamer could be 
obtained, was occupied and crowded by a highly 
respectable assemblage of both sexes and of all ages, 
eager to obtain a last look at the honored missionary, 
to testify their respect for him and for his company, 

* The Missionary's Farewell, pp, 92, 93. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 361 

to evince their sympathy with his objects, and once 
more to bid him God-speed. At length the bell 
began to ring, and to announce that the hour of 
departure had arrived. Considerable emotion was 
now manifest, and many an eye was dimmed by 
the starting tear. The hour strikes, and the bell 
ceases. A silence almost awful now ensues, disturbed 
only by the fierce hiss of the steam, and the incipient 
motion of the machinery. The signal is given, the 
engines slowly begin to revolve, and the vessel moves. 
At this moment Mr. Williams ascended the platform 
which connects the paddle-boxes, and was cordially 
cheered by his friends on the shore, the ladies waving 
their handkerchiefs. He continued bowing to their 
repeated plaudits, until the vessel became shrouded 
by the shipping on the river." * 

The steamer having reached Gravesend, where the 
Camden lay, the time arrived when the missionaries 
must bid their friends farewell. The little band were 
seated at the stern of the vessel, around which each 
person on board passed to exchange a last word with 
the friends whose faces he expected to see no more. 
Before the final separation, they all joined in singing 
an appropriate hymn, and these most interesting 
exercises were closed with an affecting prayer by the 
Rev. Mr. Jackson, the only surviving Director of the 
Society who was on board the ship Duff on the day 
of her departure. 

* The Missionary's Farewell, pp. 118, 119. 



362 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

Never since the sailing of the Duff had a vessel 
left England under circumstances and for objects 
entirely similar to those which marked the voyage 
of the Camden. This was in the strictest sense a 
missionary ship, wholly consecrated to the Lord, and 
designed to be used only as an instrument for the pro- 
motion of his glory, and the extension of his kingdom 
on the earth. The Camden was commanded by Capt. 
Robert Morgan, a man of mild, and winning manners, 
a skilful navigator, and a devoted Christian. Like 
Captain Wilson, the commander of the Duff, he had 
consecrated himself to the missionary work, and 
rejoiced in this opportunity of carrying the heralds 
of the cross to the islands of the sea. 

On the 8th of September, the Camden arrived 
safely at Sydney, New South Wales. In a letter 
which Mr. Williams wrote from this place to the 
Directors of the Missionary Society, he observes, 
" Our prospects grow brighter and brighter, as we 
approach the field of labor, and I think, if God spare 
my life for a few years, our most sanguine expectations 
will be surpassed." 

After visiting the Navigators', Georgian, and So- 
ciety Islands, Mr. Williams, in conformity with his 
original plan, proceeded to visit the New Hebrides. 
He was accompanied by Captain Morgan, Mr. Cun- 
ningham, vice-consul for the South Sea Islands, and 
Mr. Harris, who was intending to go as a missionary 
to the Marquesas. 

"On the 19th of November, 1839, this apostle of 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 363 

the Pacific unfurled the banner of peace on the 
island of Tanna, one of the New Hebrides group, 
where the barbarous people showed him no little 
kindness, and received the Christian teachers from 
Samoa gladly. In the evening, having recorded his 
gratitude to God who had done such great things for 
them, he assembled with his beloved companions for 
the solemn exercise, which Captain Morgan so appro- 
priately styles their ' family prayer, 5 and Mr. Harris, 
in the orderly course of their Scripture reading, 
read the 15th chapter of the first Epistle to the 
Corinthians — the sublime record of the believer's 
triumph over death ! 

" So closed that day; — on the morrow, his body, 
with that of his attached friend, lay stained with his 
own blood, lifeless and cold, on the strand of the 
adjacent island." * 

The next day they proceeded to Erromanga, 
another island of the same group. The natives 
appeared quite different from those of the other 
islands, being more rude and barbarous in their 
behavior. They were at first averse to holding any 
intercourse with the strangers, but having received 
presents of fish-hooks and beads, they brought the 
missionaries some cocoanuts. They were still, how- 
ever, exceedingly shy. Thinking that they had 
gained the confidence of the natives, they all went 
on shore. While Captain Morgan stopped to see 

* Forty-sixth Report of the London Missionary Society, p. 4. 



364 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

the boat safely anchored, the missionaries walked up 
the beach. The Captain soon followed them, but 
had not gone far before the boat's crew called to him 
to come back. He looked round and saw Mr. Wil- 
liams and Mr. Cunningham running towards the sea, 
the former closely pursued by a native. Captain 
Morgan immediately returned to the boat, from which 
he saw a native strike Mr. Williams, who had just 
reached the water. The beach was stony and steep, 
and in consequence of the blow, Mr. Williams fell 
backward to the ground. Other natives soon came 
up, one of whom struck him with a club, and another 
pierced his body with several arrows. Mr. Harris 
was also overtaken and shared the same fate. Captain 
Morgan made several attempts to obtain the bodies, 
but neither of them could be procured. The natives 
seeing the boat approaching the shore for this pur- 
pose, attacked the persons remaining in it, and left 
one of their arrows sticking in its side. 

The news of this sad event reached England a 
few days before the annual meeting of the Missionary 
Society. The particulars respecting it were com- 
municated to the assembly, and resolutions passed by 
the Society expressing the deepest sympathy with the 
bereaved families of their lamented missionaries. A 
subscription was soon after commenced in aid of 
Mrs. Williams and her children, and a handsome 
sum was raised and appropriated to their use. 

On the 1st of February, 1840, the British ship 
Favorite sailed from Sydney to search for the remains 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 365 

of Messrs. Williams and Harris. The expedition 
was accompanied by Mr. Cunningham, and a Samoan 
chief to act as interpreter. At Erromanga they 
had an interview with the natives, and by means of 
presents and threats obtained from them part of the 
bones of the two missionaries. The vessel then 
sailed for the Samoas, where the recovered bones 
were interred, amidst the respectful regrets of the 
officers of the Favorite, and the tears of their breth- 
ren, and of hundreds of Samoans, who remembered 
Mr. Williams as the first herald of salvation to their 
shores. 

After the death of Mr. Williams, Mr. Heath of 
the Samoa mission, was requested by his brethren 
to make an exploring voyage in the Camden. He 
visited the New Hebrides, and left native teachers 
at four of the islands, one of which was Erromanga, 
the very island on which the missionaries were 
murdered. 

It has been mentioned that one object which Mr. 
Williams had in view in his last voyage to the South 
Sea Islands, was the establishment of a college for 
the education of native teachers. The missionaries 
at the different stations entered fully into his plans 
respecting it, and one was immediately commenced at 
Rarotonga, which soon numbered eleven students. 
A large piece of ground on which to erect the 
building, was purchased of the king, and there 
is every reason to hope that the institution will 
prosper* 



366 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

In the autumn of 1839, the American Exploring 
Expedition visited Upolu, and the commander, Cap- 
tain Charles Wilkes, appointed Mr. John Williams, 
Consul for the United States.* It is hoped that by 
the influence of this office, he will be able effectually 
to prevent vicious seamen from deserting their ships, 
and to check the wickedness of those on shore. 



* Mr Williams went out to promote the secular objects of 

the mission. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



TEMPERANCE. 



The evils which followed the introduction of spirit- 
uous liquors into the South Sea Islands have been more 
than once adverted to in the preceding pages, but the 
importance of the subject seems to require a more ex- 
tended notice. The Tahitians were early taught by 
some natives of the Sandwich Islands to distil ardent 
spirits from the ti root, and they soon imbibed such a 
fondness for it, that no sacrifice was deemed too great 
by which the gratification of their appetite might be 
secured. Whole districts frequently united to erect a 
still, which, though rude in appearance, answered the 
purpose for which it was made. At one time there were 
on Tahiti alone one hundred and fifty of these stills. 
The first spirit that issued from the still, on account 
of its being the strongest, was called no, and was 
carefully preserved and given to the chiefs. The less 
powerful liquor which was subsequently obtained, 
was distributed among the common people. A tem- 
porary house was erected over the still, where the 
men and boys assembled and spent several days in 



368 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

rioting and drunkenness, and where they often prac- 
tised the most atrocious barbarities. When they 
were either preparing a still or engaged in drinking, 
it was impossible to obtain from them the most com- 
mon offices of hospitality. " Under the unrestrained 
influence of their intoxicating draught, in their ap- 
pearance and actions they resembled demons more 
than human beings. Sometimes in a deserted still- 
house might be seen the fragments of the rude boiler, 
and the other appendages of the still, scattered in 
confusion on the ground ; and among them the dead 
and mangled bodies of those who had been murdered 
with axes or billets of wood in the quarrels that had 
terminated their debauch. 55 It was not among them- 
selves only that they quarrelled ; vessels were some- 
times seized and their crews murdered. The most 
daring acts of outrage and cruelty occurred from 
time to time, and led the missionaries to feel that if 
these immoralities were not suppressed, the most dis- 
astrous consequences would ensue, not only to the 
natives but to themselves. A meeting of the mis- 
sionaries was convened in 1831, for the purpose of 
considering what could be done to counteract the 
existing evils. Each one made a report respecting 
his station, and deeply lamented the comparative 
smallness of his congregation and the little regard 
paid to divine things. The cause which had oper- 
ated in producing so sad a change was sought for, 
and it was found in the use of spiritous liquors among 
the people. The formation of a Temperance Society 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 369 

was proposed and agreed to by the missionaries, who 
all resolved to use their influence to induce the 
natives to engage with them to abstain entirely from 
all ardent spirits. Papers were immediately drawn 
up, stating the object of the Society and signed by the 
missionaries at each station. At Papara, a district 
on the island of Tahiti, the chief Tali entered cheer- 
fully into the plan, and in a short time the Society at 
that station numbered three hundred and sixty. " The 
vacant seats in the chapel began again to be filled, 
the schools were well attended, and attention to reli- 
gion revived ; the happy state of things prior to the 
introduction of spirits re-appeared." The people 
were so much delighted with this change, that they 
called a meeting of the inhabitants of that district, 
and agreed among themselves that they would not 
trade with any vessel that should bring ardent spirits 
to their shores. The chiefs and people of other dis- 
tricts, seeing the favorable results of this measure at 
Papara, followed the good example. Soon after this 
the " Parliament" met. Before proceeding to busi- 
ness, the members sent a message to the queen to 
know upon what principles they were to act. She 
returned a copy of the New Testament, saying, "Let 
the principles contained in that book be the foundation 
of all your proceedings ;" and immediately they 
enacted a law to prohibit trading with any vessel 
which brought ardent spirits for sale. It was some 
months after the formation of the Temperance So- 
ciety at Tahiti before it was joined by the queen and 
24 



370 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

her attendants. In March, 1S34, a meeting of the 
trite Ture, or law makers, was held to prohibit the 
importation of spirits, at which it was agreed that 
if any one was found to have used even one glass, 
he should be tried, and that if proved guilty he should 
suffer a penalty, which was, for a native, ten hogs, and 
for a foreigner ten dollars, and banishment from the 
country. Notwithstanding this penalty, the runaway 
seamen who were living at Tahiti, continually smug- 
gled liquor on shore, but whenever they were discover- 
ed, their rum was poured upon the beach. About two 
months after the law was passed respecting the im- 
portation of spirits, a vessel arrived at Tahiti with 
several casks, but the captain not being permitted to 
land any, proceeded with his cargo to the Leeward 
Islands. A foreigner, residing on the island, who 
sold liquor, was fined $18, and three who drank it 
were fined $5 each. Another foreign resident was 
fined $30 for selling it, and his house was taken away 
from him. The Tahitians were in the habit of mak- 
ing voyages to the Pearl Islands, and bringing from 
them cargoes of pearl shell, which they disposed of 
to the English and American traders who touch at 
the islands. Paofai, the Secretary of the Tahitian 
Missionary Society, and his brother, made an agree- 
ment with the commander of an American vessel to 
supply him with shells to the amount of c£30(), in part 
payment for which they were obliged to take $500 
worth of American rum ! 

As Tamatoa exerted an important influence in 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 371 

relation to the cause of temperance at the Society 
Islands, a brief notice of this chief will not be out of 
place here. Before he was brought under the influ- 
ence of the Gospel, he was much addicted to the use 
of the intoxicating juice of the kava root, which 
produces a narcotic effect so peculiar that the 
slightest noise is exceedingly distracting to per- 
sons under its influence. As soon as it was known 
that the king had been drinking, the women ceased 
to beat their cloth, and all sounds in the immediate 
vicinity were hushed. Children also were carefully 
removed from the premises, lest he should be annoyed 
in the slumber which had been induced by the stupi- 
fying draught. While in a state of intoxication he 
was exceedingly desperate, and on the slightest dis- 
turbance would seize a club, spear, or any other 
weapon, rush out of the house, and wreak his ven- 
geance on friend or foe, man, woman, or child, 
whom he might happen to meet. In this way several 
persons had fallen victims to his ferocity. On such 
occasions his look and manner were terrible. " Once, 
when thus aroused, he rushed out of his dwelling, 
and not being able to find a weapon, he struck an 
unoffending person such a violent blow with his fist 
that he knocked his eye out, and mutilated his own 
hand so much that he lost, in consequence, the first 
and second bones of his forefinger. After ardent 
spirits were introduced from England and America, 
he became exceedingly addicted to this new method of 
intoxication, and when under their influence he was 



372 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

equally violent and terrible.* 5 ' Thus he continued 
till he embraced the Gospel ; but then he resolved 
never again to taste ardent spirit, and while he lived, 
a period of more than fifteen years, he sacredly 
regarded his vow. The effect of his example upon 
the people was exceedingly beneficial. His son and 
successor was, however, unfortunately a dissipated 
young man, and instead of following his father's good 
example, sanctioned the introduction of spirits. 

In 1831, during the absence of Mr. "Williams from 
Raiatea, an unprincipled captain brought a cask of 
spirits to the island, and sold it to the natives. En- 
couraged by their chief, the people gave way to 
almost universal dissipation. As the cask which had 
been imported was sufficient only to awaken a desire 
for more, they prepared stills and commenced the dis- 
tillation of spirits from the ti root. Mr. Williams, 
on his return, found the people in a dreadful state in 
consequence of this indulgence in intoxicating liquors. 
A meeting was immediately called which Mr. Wil- 
liams was requested to attend, and resolutions were 
passed that all the stills should be destroyed. A new 
judge was chosen, the laws were re-established, and 
persons selected to go round the island and carry the 
resolutions into effect. In some districts they met 
with considerable opposition, but they made repeated 
circuits, and in the course of a few months every 
still was demolished, and every still-house burnt to 

* Missionary Enterprises, p. 346. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 373 

the ground. A law was also enacted inflicting a 
heavy penalty on any one who should be found en- 
gaged in the work of distillation. A Temperance 
Society was soon after formed at Raiatea, which was 
joined by the dissipated young chief, who says, in a 
letter to Mr. Williams after his return to England, 
" The spirits, about which your thoughts were evil 
towards me, I have entirely done away with, because 
my heart is sick of that bad path, and I am now 
'pressing towards the mark for the prize of my high 
calling.' These are now my thoughts, that God may 
become my own God. This is really my wish. I 
am commending myself to God and to the word of 
his grace. " 

In March, 1834, Daniel Wheeler, a member of the 
Society of Friends, visited several of the South Sea 
Islands. Respecting Tahiti, he says, " The landing 
of spirituous liquors from English vessels trading to 
the colonies of New South Wales, and from ships in 
the whaling employ, as well as from those belonging 
to America, is permitted or winked at. Although 
great exertion is made and promoted by the mission- 
aries to stop this overwhelming torrent of iniquity, 
yet their measures are often abortive, and can never 
be effective, unless co-operated with on the part of 
the masters of the shipping. Notwithstanding the 
disuse of spirituous liquors is rigidly enforced at 
Tahiti, and no person is allowed to have it in his 
house, or if the breath of any of the natives smell of 
it, a severe fine is imposed ; yet this bane of the 



374 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

human race is still to be purchased on shore, and the 
supply is kept up by the American ships, from which 
it is clandestinely landed among the supposed empty 
casks which are sent on shore for water." 

At Borabora, Mr. Wheeler found that the princi- 
pal chief and many of the people had relapsed into 
their former idolatrous practices, and he remarks, 
" The intoxicated state of the people has lately de- 
terred ships from calling here, not only from a fear 
of receiving damage, but on account of the few sup- 
plies to be obtained. 55 So great was the desire for 
spirit that bread-fruit, and every kind of food from 
which it could be obtained, was distilled, and in con- 
sequence, the people were in a wretched state of 
want, without the means of purchasing the necessaries 
of life. Everything was consumed in buying or man- 
ufacturing spirits. 

The island of Rarotonga Mr. Wheeler found in 
a state of great prosperity, and assigned as a reason, 
that there is no harbor there for shipping, and the 
natives are thus freed from many evils which attend 
the visits of ships. Of other islands Mr. Wheeler 
remarks, " Scarcely a ship arrives, but what has for 
sale rum, muskets, and gunpowder. Many of these 
are denominated ' temperance ships 5 and yet are en- 
gaged in producing madness among the natives, by 
furnishing the means of intoxication, and in supplying 
them with weapons of destruction to complete their 
misery. The word temperance, in many instances ap- 
plies only to the ships and not to the crews, none of 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 375 

whom, probably, are members of a Temperance Soci- 
ety, but are merely bound by articles that the voyage 
shall be performed without any spirits being on board, 
except as a medicine. Their sobriety exists only be- 
cause they cannot get any liquor ; when on shore and 
unbound by these articles, they are lamentably notorious 
for drinking to excess." It is stated as a fact by Mr. 
Wheeler, that vessels called temperance ships have 
landed larger quantities of spirits on some islands than 
any other class of ships. " England and America," 
writes Mr. Ferguson of the British and Foreign 
Sailor's Society, " are thus implicated in the most 
serious charge. Not only are they guilty of having 
introduced ardent spirits into those islands as an ar- 
ticle of traffic, and of having induced habits of in- 
temperance among the people ; not only have they 
been instrumental of spreading disease and wretched- 
ness, and even extermination itself, but, what is in- 
finitely worse, they have taught the natives to throw 
off all moral restraint, to set at naught the authority 
and the remonstrances of their teachers, and to aban- 
don the pure and self-denying religion of Christ." 

If the representatives of Christian nations thus 
boldly trample under foot the laws which these island- 
ers have made, in their progress towards civilization, 
it is to be feared that the natives will not have wisdom 
or resolution to attempt to enforce them hereafter. 
Their wisdom and perseverance are not equal to the 
cunning of wicked and avaricious men from en- 
lightened lands. If, on the contrary, their laws are 



376 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

maintained, and the good effects of them are seen for 
a few years, there is reason to hope that the people will 
rise higher and higher in the scale of improvement. 

During the visit of the American Exploring Ex- 
pedition at the Fejee Islands in June, 1840, a series 
of Commercial Regulations were agreed to by the 
principal kings and chiefs on the one part, and Com- 
modore Wilkes and some of his officers on the other. 
These Regulations have been made public, and 
the 6th Article is as follows : — 

"All trading in spirituous liquors, or landing the 
same, is strictly forbidden. Any person offending, 
shall pay a fine of twenty-five dollars, and the vessel 
to which he belongs shall receive no more refresh- 
ments. Any spirituous liquors found on shore shall 
be seized and destroyed." 

This attempt on the part of the United States' 
Government to shield these poor islanders from 
the evils which invariably follow the introduction of 
ardent spirits, is highly praiseworthy, and it is to be 
hoped that these Regulations may prove a sufficient 
safeguard against the example and designs of wicked I 
men who visit the islands. 



CHAPTER xix. 



CONCLUSION. 



Certain philosopher! have professed i<> admire a 
state of society the reverse of that in which we live. 
If we may believe them to be in earnest, they would 
prefer the wandering life of il»<- Arab, <»r ii»< savage 
independence of iii<- Polynesian chief, to a share in 
the enjoyments of the most polished and intellectual 
circles in Europe, The theory <>f these admirers 
of ,i state <>r nature, has been from time to time 
unconsciously acted on l>y some who have forsaken 
the abodes of civilization, and sought among savage 
tribes .'i mode of life better suited to their characters, 
Hui aside from these two classes, there is little dift 
ference of opinion among civilized men, respecting 
the superiority of those portions of iin- human race 
among whom arts and sciences, education and refine* 
ment are Known and cultivated. When, however, 
the means i>y which barbarous tribes shall bfe softened 
and elevated are discussed, there is no( the same 
agreement, n the ferocious aborigines of America, 
of Africa, and of the Southern Ocean are t<> be 



378 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

tamed and polished, or the indolent semi-barbarians 
of Southern Asia to be filled with energy and in- 
spired with enterprise; if they are to be conducted 
to a knowledge of the true God, and to a mode of 
worship acceptable to him, shall they be civilized that 
they may be christianized, or christianized that they 
may be civilized ? 

When the spirit of primitive Christianity was 
revived, and the church, starting from the slumbers 
of ages, set out on the great work of modern mis- 
sions, no small portion of the opposition with which 
this new attempt to convert the world was met, arose 
from the prevalent belief that civilization must 
precede Christianity, and not Christianity civilization. 
" This is the uniform opinion of the reviewers, of 
the magazine and newspaper writers, and of a con- 
siderable portion of the clergy of all communions. 
c Make them good mechanics, and then make them 
good Christians/ ' Men must be rational and civi- 
lized,' observes the late Dr. Lardner, ' before they 
can be Christians : knowledge has a happy tendency 
to enlarge the mind, and to encourage generous 
sentiments.' ' Christianity/ observes the late Dr. 
Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle, 'cannot imme- 
diately transform the minds of men, and totally 
change the general temper and complexion of any 
people; but, on the contrary, it will thereby itself 
undergo considerable alteration, and its own influence 
and effect depend thereon. And as barbarous and 
savage nations are unable to bear the truth, so vicious 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 379 

and immoral ones are in like manner incapable of 
bringing forth the fruits thereof. If such a people 
did receive the true religion, they would soon drop 
it again.' " * 

The same views, not unfrequently accompanied 
with indications of contempt for the labors of the 
self-denying men whose lives are consecrated to the 
extension of the Gospel, have been expressed by more 
recent writers than those whose language has been 
quoted by Dr. Lang. One of these is Miss Martineau, 
who has recently made some noise on both sides of 
the Atlantic, and who it is to be hoped has not always 
expressed the sentiments of the religious denomination 
to which she belongs. Respecting the mission at 
Mackinaw, which she visited in her tour through the 
United States, she says, " There is reason to think 
that the mission is the least satisfactory part of the 
establishment on this island. A great latitude of 
imagination or representation is usually admitted on 
the subject of missions to the heathen. The reporters 
of this one appear to be peculiarly imaginative. I 
fear that the common process has here been gone 
through, of attempting to take from the savage the 
venerable and the true which he possessed, and to 
force upon him something else which is to him 
neither venerable nor true. The Indians have been 
proved, by the success of the French among them, 
to be capable of civilization. Near Little Traverse, 

* Lang's View of the Polynesian Nation, pp. 241, 242. 



380 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

in the north-west part of Michigan, within easy reach 
of Mackinaw, there is an Indian village, full of 
orderly and industrious inhabitants, employed chiefly 
in agriculture. The English and Americans have 
never succeeded with the aborigines so well as the 
French : and it may be doubted ichcther the clergy 
have been a much greater blessing to them than the 
traders" * 

But the views of Miss Martineau are of small im- 
portance, in comparison with the influence which is 
likely to be exerted by the opinions of an author so 
much admired as our countryman Washington Irving. 
In his " Tour on the Prairies,'' he says of one of his 
attendants, " His residence was on the Neosho, in 
an Osage hamlet or neighborhood, under the super- 
intendence of a worthy missionary from the banks 
of the Hudson by the name of Requa, who was 
endeavoring to instruct the savages in the art of 
agriculture, and to make husbandmen and herdsmen 
of them. I had visited this agricultural mission of 
Requa in the course of my recent tour along the 
frontier, and had considered it more likely to even- 
tuate in solid advantages to the poor Indians, than 
any of the mere praying and preaching missions 
along the border" t 

It is singular that writers who are surrounded by 
the influences and accustomed to the forms of Chris- 
tianity, should err so widely in their views of its 

* Society in America, i. 282. t Tour on the Prairies, p. 203. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 381 

design, of its adaptation to the wants of man, and 
of its power to re-model human nature. The most 
charitable way of accounting for the expression of 
such opinions at this late period in trfe history of our 
race, is by the supposition of a want of acquaintance 
with the actual results of the civilizing scheme, com- 
pared with those which have uniformly followed the 
diffusion of the Gospel. For the facts which may 
constitute one side of such a comparison, it is only 
necessary to turn over the pages of this book. They 
are thus referred to by the lamented Williams. " I 
am convinced that the first step toward the promotion 
of a nation's temporal and social elevation, is to plant 
amongst them the tree of life, when civilization and 
commerce will entwine their tendrils around its trunk, 
and derive support from its strength. Until the people 
are brought under the influence of religion, they have 
no desire for the arts and usages of civilized life; 
but that invariably creates it. The missionaries were 
at Tahiti many years, during which they built and 
furnished a house in European style. The natives 
saw this, but not an individual imitated their example. 
As soon, however, as they were brought under the 
influence of Christianity, the chiefs, and even the 
common people, began to build neat plastered cottages, 
and to manufacture bedsteads, seats, and other articles 
of furniture. The females had long observed the 
dress of the missionaries' wives, but while heathen 
they greatly preferred their own, and there was not a 
single attempt at imitation. No sooner, however, 



382 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

were they brought under the influence of religion, 
than all of them, even to the lowest, aspired to the 
possession of a gown, a bonnet, and a shawl, that 
they might appear like Christian women. I could 
proceed to enumerate many other changes of the 
same kind, but these will be sufficient to establish 
my assertion. While the natives are under the in- 
fluence of their superstitions, they evince an inanity 
and torpor, from which no stimulus has proved power- 
ful enough to arouse them, but the new ideas, and 
the new principles imparted by Christianity." * 

This statement is confirmed by Dr. Lang. " The 
missionaries at the Society Islands were resident 
nearly twenty years at these islands before any of the 
natives embraced Christianity. During that long 
period not one of the islanders had acquired a knowl- 
edge of any of the European arts, or adopted any of 
the habits of European civilization; and not one of 
them, with the single exception, I believe, of King 
Pomare, who was naturally a man of strong mind, 
could be induced by any means to undergo the trouble 
of learning to read and to write. At length a few 
of them embraced Christianity, and shortly there- 
after, the whole nation renounced idolatry. It was 
then no longer necessary to cajole the natives to 
learn to read and to write. The passion for these 
accomplishments of European civilization became 
forthwith universal, and the gradual adoption, first 

* Missionary Enterprises, p. 518. 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 383 

of one and then of another, of the arts and habits 
of civilized men followed as a matter of course. " * 

If we would learn the results of an attempt to 
elevate by a process of civilization, the same race 
of men as those to which the preceding extracts 
relate, it is not necessary to go further from Tahiti 
than New Zealand. 

" The Church of England Missionary Society's 
mission to New Zealand was originally formed on 
the civilizing scheme, in deference, I presume, to 
the opinions of Bishop Law and the reviewers. On 
this principle a number of missionary artisans, of 
various handicrafts, were duly forwarded to New 
Zealand, where the missionary carpenter accordingly 
built a specimen house, as like an English house 
as possible, expecting, of course, that every New 
Zealander who saw it would immediately build him- 
self a house on the same plan ; but the New Zealander, 
who had looked on with perfect indifference during 
the operation, preferred a hut after the fashion of his 
rude forefathers, and continued to live as before. 
The missionary boat builder was still less successful; 
for the New Zealand war canoe, impelled with the 
speed of an arrow by fifty paddles, could sail round 
aid round his clinker-built wherry, to the infinite 
satisfaction of the islanders, let her do her best. The 
missionary rope spinner was absolutely laughed to 
scorn for his awkward attempts at the application 

* Lang's View of the Polynesian Nation, pp. 244, 245. 



384 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

of British machinery to the dressing and manufacture 
of the native flax, which the New Zealander could 
already manufacture into nets, lines, and mats for 
clothing, both useful and ornamental. The mission- 
ary blacksmith was doubtless a personage of more 
importance ; but it w r as only because he could mend 
the lock of the crazy old musket, which the New 
Zealander had purchased from some English or 
American whaler, for a large quantity of pigs and 
potatoes, and with which he was only anxious to 
shoot his countrymen of some distant tribe, unac- 
quainted with the use of fire arms. And although 
the stout missionary ploughman turned up in one 
year, as he actually told me himself, no fewer than 
eleven acres of land which he had previously cleared, 
and which he afterwards sowed with wheat with his 
own hands, not a single New Zealander cared either 
for his plough, or his harrow, his crop, or himself. 
In short, for ten or twelve successive years the mis- 
sionary artisans and farmers cleared land, ploughed 
and sowed, sawed timber and built houses, plied the 
hammer and spun ropes to the dry bones of New 
Zealand, without perceiving the least symptom of 
animation. They did every thing, in fact, but what 
God had himself commanded them to do two thou- 
sand years ago — prophesy, i. e. preach to the dry 
bones; preach the Gospel to every creature. The 
result of such procedure was just what might have 
been expected. The missionaries not only became 
completely secularized, but several of their number 



SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 385 

became demoralized, through the unhallowed opera- 
tion of the wretched system they were called to act 
under, and were ultimately dismissed from the Society. 
The New Zealanders, who had not unfrequently 
accused them in the mean time of having come to 
their country because it was a better one than their 
own, were as far from civilization as ever; and the 
Society was therefore disappointed in its hopes." 

Dr. Lang adds, " I am happy, however, to inform 
the reader, that the New Zealand Mission is now in 
great measure remodeled ; and that under the super- 
intendence of the Rev. Mr. Tate — a missionary not 
less able, than zealous and indefatigable — it already 
promises to impart benefits of the highest order to 
the numerous inhabitants of that most interesting 
island." * 

This writer has embodied his views on the subject 
in some lines composed on ship board, within sight 
of New Zealand, in 1830, and as the poetry of men 
who, like him, write of things with which they are 
personally familiar, is quite as likely to contain truth, 
as the philosophy of others who have no practical 
acquaintance with the subjects of which they speak, 
we shall transfer a few of his stanzas to our pages. 

" See yon tall chief of high command, 
With face tattooed and bearing proud; 
The feast of blood already plann'd, 
He eyes his victim in the crowd. 

* Lang's View of the Polynesian Nation, pp. 248—252. 

25 



386 SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 

His horrid mien and matted hair 
Might well befit a tiger's lair. 

Beneath his shaggy flaxen mat, 

The dreadful marree* hangs concealed; 

Nor is his dark and deadly thought 
By look, or word, or act, revealed; — 

The fated wretch fears no surprise 

Till suddenly he shrieks, and dies ! 

How shall we tame thee, man of blood ? 

How shall thy wild Antarctic isle, 
Won by philanthropy to God, 

With British arts and science smile ? 
How shall New Zealand's sons embrace 
The habits of a happier race ? 

1 Let agriculture tame the soil,' 

The philosophic sage exclaims; 
4 Let peasants ply their useful toil 
Along the wide Antarctic Thames; 
So shall New Zealand's sons embrace 
The habits of a happier race.' 

Wisdom, thy name is folly here ! 

The savage laughs thy plans to scorn, 
Each lake supplies him dainty cheer; 

He sates his hunger with the fern, 
And contemplates with proud disdain 
Thy fuirow'd fields and yellow grain. 



* The marree is a short hatchet, resembling a butcher's 
cleaving-knife, and is sometimes made of fish-bone, though 
generally of stone, finely polished. 






SOUTH SEA MISSIONS. 387 

1 Let European arts be plied,' 

Again the learned sage commands, 
4 And be the great sledge-hammer tried 
To civilize the savage lands : 
The axe, the chisel, and the saw 
Lead to religion, peace, and law.' 

Deluded sage, the attempt were vain: 

The savage scorns thy science too, 
And asks with pitiful disdain, 

4 What ship outsails rny war-canoe ? ' 
Of all thy gifts there is but one 
He prizes — 'tis thy murdering gun. 

4 Go preach the Gospel,' Christ commands ; 
And when he spake the sovereign word^ 
New Zealand's dark and savage lands 

Lay all outstretch'd before their Lord: 
He saw them far across the sea, 
Even from the hills of Galilee. 

In all their ignorance they lay 

Before the Saviour's piercing eye; 
And he who makes the darkness day, 

Thus pitied all their misery : 
4 Proclaim to yonder savage race 
The tidings of redeeming grace. 

4 Let the wild savage know the God 
Whose Providence his life sustains, 
And Him who shed his precious blood 

To save him from eternal pains; 
So shall his brutal warfare cease, 
So shall he learn the arts of peace ! ■ " 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Oct. 2005 

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